James Potter and the Lost School
by ColbiWest
Summary: After the long summer, James Potter returns to Hogwarts to continue his magical education. Between Quidditch, pranks, and a fascinating new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, he barely has time to focus on his roommates' problems, whether Sirius' inimical younger brother, Peter's continual homework trouble, or something that Remus seems intent on hiding from everyone . . .
1. Hardwin's Arrival

_**Welcome to the second installment in the James Potter series! If you are new to this saga, I highly recommend reading**_ **James Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor** _ **before proceeding, which you will find on my page. Thank you for reading!**_

* * *

 **Hardwin's Arrival**

 _Grinning to himself, James looked back at the Hogwarts Express puffing in the bright afternoon sun._

 _"Yeah. There's going to be a lot of people visiting us during the summer."_

* * *

Eyes leaping open, James Potter bolted upright from his sleep, sending one of his pillows flying to the floor. Shaking his head to clear it, he stared down at where his pillow had fallen against the mahogany desk next to his bed and blinked tiredly. Too exhausted to retrieve it, he looked up and spotted a collection of open letters lying on his desk next to the ripped-apart envelopes that had once held them securely.

 _A lot of people visiting indeed_ , he thought bitterly.

Only two of the envelopes had the carefully handwritten name of Remus Lupin on their fronts, a tribute to the quiet and intelligent nature of one of James' roommates from his first term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. James had waited until nearly a month had passed by since leaving the castle before sending his personal owl, Hardwin, to find Remus with a letter in tow. When Hardwin had returned with Remus' response, James had been delighted and entertained by the strictly-executed forwarding address, which contained both his name and the full titles of his parents just in case the screech owl had flown into the wrong hands. However, after opening the letter, he found only a brief message.

 _To James Potter, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fleamont and Euphemia Potter_

 _Potter Cottage, Godric's Hollow_

 _Cornwall, England_

 _James,_

 _How has your return treated you? Knowing you, you've probably set fire to your house already. I'm enjoying break immensely, even though it feels strange to be sleeping in my own bed again. Still, it's good to be back._

 _Write soon,_

 _Remus_

The next note from Remus, which came a few weeks later, was even shorter, and the handwriting was a little smudged in the corners as if he had been in a hurry when he wrote it.

 _No, of course I haven't memorized my textbooks. I haven't even gotten them yet. Thanks for the vote of confidence, though._

 _Remus_

Next to his letters now lay a lengthy note from Peter Pettigrew, the last of the four roommates. Four other envelopes from his address sat underneath it, but the top letter was the most recent update.

 _Hi, James!_

 _How are you doing? I tried to send this as soon as possible after receiving your last letter, but my mother wouldn't let me stop by the Owlery until after I had finished uprooting the garden gnomes, which took a few days. One of them grabbed my arm and gave it a nice tug, and now I think my shoulder is dislocated. I'll have to have it looked at._

 _Good news! I won two Sickles from Arnold Flutterbury when the Banchory Bangers made it to the Quidditch Cup this summer. Do you remember him? It turns out that he lives just a few houses away on the other side of the neighborhood creek. He's a big fan of the Falmouth Falcons, but I knew they weren't going to beat the Bangers in their own stadium. Unfortunately, he got a little sore after that and has refused to place any more bets on following matches._

 _You spoke about meeting up soon. I think that's a great idea! Have you talked to Sirius and Remus about it yet? There's not a whole lot of room at my place, but I'm sure we could all squeeze into the main hall if we laid out side by side. My room would only have enough space for one extra person on the floor, but I'm sure Sirius and Remus could take my mother's bedroom. She won't mind. Still, just in case, do you think it's a better idea if we came to your place?_

 _I'm sorry if Hardwin has a little trouble flying. I accidentally knocked him over when I opened my bedroom door. My arm was still aching from when that gnome attacked me. Hardwin ate one the other day, though, so I think he's well-fed._

 _Tell me what you think about meeting up! I can't wait to see you again!_

 _Peter_

 _P.S. Do you know what to do if your broom keeps tilting to the left when you dive? I tried to fly in the opposite direction, but that just makes it go into a tail-spin and crash even faster. Now my other shoulder aches._

Peter was the only one of James' roommates who had kept up with him regularly throughout the summer. Although James had sent his last letter to Remus nearly two weeks ago, Hardwin still had not returned, and James sometimes wondered if his friend was purposely ignoring him. However, none of his disappointments ranked as highly as the unbroken silence from Sirius Black, his best mate from Hogwarts. Nothing so much as an owl's feather had flown in from his bedroom window in response to his many letters, and he had started to doubt the strength of their friendship. Maybe Sirius had forgotten how they had snuck into Professor Slughorn's dinner party the year before, the first of numerous escapades aided by James' Invisibility Cloak. Had he forgotten the detentions they had ended up in together, only made bearable by each other's company? Did those long nights awake laughing and shooting fireworks from their wands in their dormitory mean nothing to him?

Propping himself up, James grabbed his glasses from his desk unhappily and placed them on his nose, squinting at Peter's letters through the round-shaped lenses. Sighing, he laid his head back down on his bare mattress and closed his eyes, feeling too disappointed to reread any of the letters. However, after a few moments, he heard a creak from his bedroom door and glanced to the side as his mother entered his room and drew the curtains away from the window on the far wall.

"Still in bed?" she asked cheerfully, the scent of half-cooked eggs clinging to her clothes. "If you don't come down soon, your breakfast will get cold."

Humming happily, she opened the window to let both the sunlight and the breeze inside, the crisp morning wind ruffling her gray curls. Sighing, James sat up again and held his chin in his hand, watching her silently. After walking back to his bed to retrieve the fallen pillow, his mother placed it on her hip and brushed it off slowly, studying his gloomy expression thoughtfully.

"Have you gotten any word back yet?" she asked sympathetically, her brow wrinkling even more deeply than usual.

"It's been two weeks," James said in answer, laying back down after she placed his pillow underneath his head again. "Hardwin's never gotten lost before."

"I'm sure he's just had a delay," she comforted. "He's bound to be on his way back now."

"I sometimes wonder if they even want to talk to me," James confessed, locking his arms behind his head.

Shaking her head warmheartedly, his mother approached his desk and picked up a few of Peter's letters. "Look how many letters you've received," she argued, flipping through the envelopes. "If your friends really wanted to ignore you, I'm sure they would have found a better way to do it."

"Peter's talked with me a lot," James replied, "but I've hardly heard from Remus or Sirius at all."

"You've told them they're welcome any time, right?" his mother asked.

"Yes," James responded automatically, but he sat up animatedly as he grew excited. "It'd be great to have them over! Peter wouldn't be a bother, although you might have to lock away the glass vase next to the kitchen. And Remus—you'll just _love_ him! He's really polite and smart, and he won't do anything unless a professor gives him a signed document saying he can." Smiling to himself, he rubbed a hand through his jet-black hair reminiscently. "And Sirius is just like me, so I know you'll get along well! We do the most mental things together." Sobering suddenly, he frowned down at his hands. "I just wish he'd write."

For a moment the room was silent, and James eventually looked back up at his mother expectantly. She had laid the letters back down on his desk and was staring at the floor, opening and closing her mouth as if struggling with an idea. Finally, she glanced back up at him and rubbed a spot on the back of her neck.

"Do you—I mean, do you really think it's a good idea to hang around this Sirius?" she asked hesitantly.

Horrified, James shot upright. "What do you mean?" he demanded, his mouth agape.

"All I mean is that it might be wise to consider where he's coming from," she continued consolingly, slightly embarrassed. "I've heard about his family from a few of my friends at the Ministry, and . . . well, they don't exactly hold the same views we do, especially regarding Muggle relations. Some of their ideas are quite old-fashioned, even pertaining to Muggle-borns."

"Sirius isn't like that!" James protested, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. "I haven't heard him say one word against non-magical people, and I know he'd rather hex himself than believe any of that pure-blooded nonsense! Besides, he hates his family!"

Although evidently not pleased with James' description either, his mother nevertheless shook her head and sighed. "Well, if you say so," she relented while James glared at her accusingly. Glancing around the room at the piles of unfolded clothes scattered about, she added, "I'll have to get Winthrop to clean up this mess while you're eating. You'd better hurry down, too: he was threatening to throw your plate away if you didn't get it while it was hot."

As she headed towards the door, James reached for his wand on the desk so that he could summon his robes from his closet. "And no magic outside of school, dear!" his mother called out from beyond view. "You know the law!"

Disappointed, James released his wand with a grimace and let it clatter onto the desk. Crossing his arms, he stared out of the window and glared at the neighboring houses as if they had personally caused all of his problems. If only Sirius could visit, his parents would know that there was nothing to be worried about by the two of them rooming together. He could not imagine anyone that he trusted more, and he knew his parents would agree if they just met him themselves. Narrowing his eyes at the gray haze of clouds over the rooftops, James nodded firmly; if Sirius failed to respond to his letters during the few weeks left before the start of term, James would just have to sneak out and find his friend himself.

Suddenly, a speck of light outside the window caught James' eye, and he sat forward on his bed to get a better look. Growing slowly larger as it bobbed through the air, the white form appeared to be heading directly for his window, but only when it floated over the house on the opposite side of the street did James recognize it and bolt upright.

"Hardwin!" he shouted excitedly, and he jumped up from his mattress to sprint towards the window in his nightclothes. Holding out his arm, he allowed his screech owl to settle near his elbow and drop an envelope into his waiting palm. Hardly daring to breathe, James ripped open the envelope while Hardwin flapped away and settled on his bedpost, and he quickly pulled the message out from inside.

 _James,_

 _Sorry about the long wait. Hardwin probably had trouble finding me, because my family moved to Oxfordshire after your last letter. We're just getting settled in now, but it seems nice so far. It's quiet, at least._

 _No, I haven't heard from Sirius either. I'm sure he's just busy. Whatever he's doing, I'm certain that we'll hear all about it once we see him again. At any rate, I wouldn't worry too much about it._

 _About visiting, I don't think there's much of a chance I can get away. Like I said, we're still getting used to the new house, and my parents could use the extra help. Besides, the start of term is only a few weeks away. I'm sorry we couldn't plan anything before now, but we'll meet up again soon._

 _Write back if you can,_

 _Remus_

Folding the letter up, James sighed and rubbed the back of Hardwin's neck to stop him from sending moody glares across the room, obviously upset that he had not received any thanks for his trouble.

"Sorry about that," James apologized, and he pulled out a treat from a small bag next to Hardwin's cage. Perking up, the owl snatched the biscuit from his fingers as soon as it came within reach and turned away greedily.

As Hardwin tore into his treat, James stared down at him with a mixture of feelings. Remus had completely shattered his hopes of meeting up with his friends over the summer, but at least now he knew that he was not the only one whom Sirius was ignoring; still, he could not help but wonder why.


	2. The Notice

_**Sorry for the long wait! I was gone last weekend and couldn't upload this chapter.**_

* * *

 **The Notice**

On the morning of the start of term, James awoke feeling both excited and apprehensive for the day ahead; finally, after months of waiting, he would be able to see his roommates face-to-face and catch up with them on the Hogwarts Express. As soon as his eyes opened, he jumped out of bed and secured Hardwin in his cage, afterwards quickly pulling on his robes and dragging his suitcase downstairs. Joining his parents in the dining room for a quick breakfast, James kept catching furtive glances from his father behind the morning edition of _The Daily Prophet_ , the looks always suddenly cutting off whenever James' mother looked up or said something to one of her companions. When the family house-elf, Winthrop, appeared from the kitchen and took away their empty plates, James' father finally set down his paper as his wife stood and followed Winthrop to the other room.

"Have you packed everything?" James' father asked rather loudly, and Winthrop turned to give him a suspicious look before walking reluctantly into the kitchen. When James nodded, his father glanced around to make sure that his wife had disappeared before leaning in. "The Invisibility Cloak, too?"

"Yeah," James answered. Nodding satisfactorily, his father leaned back and picked up _The Daily Prophet_ again, its pages ruffling as they opened. After a moment, he began whistling a song by one of his favorite bands, The Kelpie Whisperers; this was something he never did unless holding back information.

"Why do you ask?" James finally questioned suspiciously.

"Oh, no reason," his father replied nonchalantly, scanning the paper. "It just must be hard for you when your friends don't write throughout the whole summer. In fact, it's almost like you're _invisible_ to them, you might say."

A grin slowly crawled across James' face as Winthrop's head popped out of the kitchen with a judgmental scowl. "This is why Master Fleamont has no friends."

"True," James' father answered with a smile, making James laugh just as his mother entered the room.

"What's so entertaining?" she asked cheerfully, busying herself with the leftover dishes.

"Nothing, just in a good mood," James replied, throwing himself off of his chair while Winthrop gave a huff and disappeared inside of the kitchen again.

"I'm glad to hear it," his mother told him, smiling knowingly and ruffling his black hair before he could run off. "Don't forget to grab your school supplies!"

"Already done!" he answered, breaking away and jogging for the door to the hallway.

In a little over half an hour, he and his parents had exited their house and had headed for the underground railway station near the center of Godric's Hollow, which was surrounded by a myriad of private businesses and a small playground. Entering a Muggle train car, they made several transfers before arriving in a heavily-populated section of London, where they took a short walk to King's Cross Station. As they stood between Platforms Nine and Ten, they waited for a break in the flow of Muggle passengers before rushing towards the metal wall together and melting through it without a scratch to arrive at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Puffing before them, the scarlet Hogwarts Express sat gleaming in the station, surrounded by hundreds of other students and their families.

As they walked closer to the train, James eagerly searched the faces of the crowd for his roommates, but he did not spot any of them in the mass of people. Disappointed, he turned back to his mother as she bent down to hug him.

"Stay safe, okay?" she requested.

"Mum, it's Hogwarts! What's there to be safe from?" James asked, pulling away from her embrace with embarrassment and smoothing down his robes. He watched as she gave him an apologetic smile, but she afterwards glanced nervously in the direction where he had just been searching for his friends; scowling as he remembered their conversation about Sirius, he crossed his arms.

"You'd be surprised!" his father answered, apparently oblivious to his son's frustration, and he ruffled James' wild hair affectionately. "I swear I once saw a werewolf at the edge of the Forbidden Forest."

"I'll be fine," James insisted, uselessly trying to make his uncooperative hair lie flat against his head. When he glared up at his father, he caught a subtle wink at his suitcase and nodded back with a grin, suddenly excited.

"Have a good year, James!" his mother told him, and he waved goodbye before hurriedly turning away to climb into the Hogwarts Express.

Once inside, he stepped away from the doorway to extract the Invisibility Cloak from his suitcase, slipping it on while the rest of the returning students remained on the platform and made their final goodbyes. When James disappeared underneath the Cloak, the train gave a piercing whistle, which sounded across the entire station, and the loitering students outside began to file in. Standing against the far wall of the train so that no one would accidentally run into him, James waited for a glimpse of one of his roommates. Soon enough, he jumped upright with a rush of excitement as Sirius passed in front of him and sought an empty compartment, all the while glancing around as if looking for someone. Quietly tiptoeing forward, James creeped after him as Sirius entered a free compartment and began placing his belongings on the overhead racks. Hardly daring to breathe, James crouched and readied for the pounce.

"Hi, Sirius!"

Suddenly, someone ran belly-first into James' invisible back, and James fell forward with a cry of surprise, ramming into Sirius and sending him to the floor as well. After struggling against the chaos of flailing limbs, James managed to turn around and identify his unwitting assailant as Peter, who now lay sprawled on top of him. Shoving James' torso back in a sort of panic, Sirius accidentally ripped off the Invisibility Cloak's hood from over his friend's head and immediately stopped squirming.

"James!" he exclaimed with a broad grin.

"Oh, hi, James!" Peter greeted as well, beaming despite his uncomfortable position on top of the other two. Once they had all struggled free, Sirius greeted James with a strong, brief hug before stepping back.

"What were you doing?" he asked.

"I was going to surprise you," James admitted, grinning widely before crossing his arms interrogatively. "Why haven't you written to me all summer?"

"I'm really sorry about that," Sirius apologized. "I meant to reply to your first letter as soon as I got it, but my family started asking questions after Hardwin flew in. I knew I had to play it safe to get permission to come for Christmas, so I locked my window and put a basket outside for your letters. I've been reading them over and over again all summer, but sending replies would have made my parents even more difficult. They don't trust people they've never met."

"So?" James prodded.

"I finally did it!" Sirius exclaimed happily. "I waited until my Uncle Alphard was visiting, and asked if I could visit you for Christmas when he was talking with my parents at the dinner table. My father immediately said yes just to get rid of me."

"Great!" James responded, and he turned to see Peter standing between them, having listened to the conversation dutifully.

"Maybe I can ask my mum if I can visit, too!" he suggested excitedly.

Sirius threw James a glance, but James shrugged relentingly. "Sure, why don't all of you come over? Speaking of which, have you two seen Remus?" he asked.

"Not yet," Sirius answered, hoisting his suitcase up to the overhead racks yet again as the Hogwarts Express gave another whistle and began chugging forward. "I didn't see any of you on the platform."

"I almost missed the train," Peter said as he put his belongings away. "There was a baggage mix-up at my house, and I didn't get here until a minute before the whistle blew." His brow furrowed worriedly, and he conjectured, "Remus might have gotten here late, too. Do you think we should find him?"

"Nah," Sirius dismissed, sinking down onto one of the padded benches. "He'll find us eventually. I don't want to move."

"Oh, I left my luggage out there," James remembered in annoyance, glancing towards the door.

"I'll get it for you!" Peter volunteered, rushing out of the compartment. Gratefully seating himself across from Sirius, James put his feet up on the opposite bench.

"Tell me about your summer," he commanded airily, waving a hand.

"Not much to tell," Sirius replied. "Just a lot of sitting around and wishing I could leave the house. The most exciting part is when I convinced my dad to let me go to Diagon Alley with my mum when she got school supplies. I couldn't find anything to do; I even had to read a few times."

Lugging James' suitcase and Hardwin's cage into the compartment, Peter had to stand on the benches to put the items away. Lazily watching his efforts, James asked Sirius, "So, have you heard much about Professor Rainhill?"

"I tracked his progress as much as I could, but _The Daily Prophet_ didn't have much to say about him," Sirius answered. "It's starting to look like he'll never wake up. I wonder who will teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this year."

"Whoever it is, I hope he does a better job than Rainhill," James joked. "It was like he was bored of his own class."

"He was worse than you in History of Magic," Sirius agreed, laughing.

"Look who's talking!" James protested.

Sitting down next to James, Peter said, "I actually fell asleep once, and I nearly fell off of my chair. Professor Binns didn't notice."

"Neither did I," Sirius said, "so I must have been close to falling off of my own."

Laughing with the others, James heard the compartment door slide open, and he glanced in its direction hopefully. Expecting to see Remus, his face fell when he instead laid eyes on an unfamiliar boy already dressed in his school robes. After a moment, however, James did a double take; the boy's dark eyes and shoulder-length hair resembled Sirius so much that James had to look back towards the window to make sure his friend still sat across from him. Wearing a sour expression, Sirius glared uninvitingly at the boy, who had frozen as if regretting his decision to open the door.

"Scoot off, Regulus," Sirius growled at the boy, and Regulus straightened rigidly, glancing briefly at James and Peter. After a second's hesitation, he backed out of the compartment without a word and closed the door with a click.

Quickly piecing the clues together, James glanced from Sirius to the outside hallway and back again. "Is that your brother?"

Sighing, Sirius leaned back. "Yeah, that's him. Sorry about that: I told him not to butt in when you're around."

"Is this his first year?" Peter questioned. When Sirius nodded, he added, "What House do you think he'll be Sorted into?"

"Don't know, don't care," Sirius answered, but James caught a hint of forced nonchalance in his voice as he stared out of the window. "As long as he stays out of my space, I'll be fine." Shrugging, James and Peter accepted his explanation and continued discussing the rest of their summer breaks. Minutes flew by and turned into hours, and the boys, busy eating their treats from the Honeydukes Express, did not notice the passing time until the sun's light dimmed and the train's electricity turned on. Already rolling through the mountains, the Hogwarts Express was pelted by a sudden onslaught of rain, and the boys used the deafening noise as an excuse to change into their school robes, seeing as they could no longer hear each other speak. Soon after they returned to their compartment, the train let out a low whistle as it began to slow, and they gathered their suitcases only to leave the warmth of the train and step out into the pounding precipitation.

Moving with the quickly shuffling crowd, they followed the majority of the students towards the dark line of horseless carriages stretched out at the train's engine. Although eager to get out of the cold rain, James slowed as he pushed through a group of first-years heading towards the lake and paused to get a good look at his surroundings.

"Where's Remus?" he asked the others, quickly giving up on his search when the rain blinded his glasses. "He should have found us hours ago!"

"Yeah, I was wondering that myself," Sirius commented, glancing around.

"If he couldn't even bother to come and find us, I'm going to have to give him a talking-to," James complained as they crossed to one of the nearest carriages and climbed in. Using the stepladder to boost his height, he again searched the faces of the other students, but he still did not see any sign of his roommate. Disappointed, he ducked his head under the roof of the carriage and sat through the bumpy ride to the castle.

Once the carriage had stopped moving, James jumped out and ran to the castle's towering double doors with the other disgruntled students, all of whom were soaked to the skin despite the protection of the carriages. Quickly slipping past the dozens of wet robes towards the front of the crowd, he, Sirius, and Peter turned to the right and entered the familiar Great Hall, where everyone had already begun to take their places at the four wooden tables running the length of the room. Overhead, the enchanted ceiling mimicked the pelting rain just outside the castle, but unlike the actual outdoors, the rain did not reach the floor below, and James could just make out the glow of the full moon through the foggy clouds.

The boys hurried to the end of the Gryffindor table and seated themselves next to Frank Longbottom and Dill Stewart, who turned and waved. After exchanging rapid greetings, they quieted as Headmaster Dumbledore entered and took his place at the center of the High Table near the back of the hall.

Behind James and the others, a parade of dripping first-years entered the Great Hall behind Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor House. Just like in the year before, she walked briskly towards the High Table to begin the Sorting Ceremony, her pointed hat flapping. Twisting in his seat to get a better look, James spotted Regulus near the front of the crowd. Knowing the ceremony was about to start, he turned back around and started scanning the table for Remus before Frank leaned in and addressed him.

"Did you see the signs yet?"

"The what?" James asked, raising his voice as Professor McGonagall revealed the Sorting Hat and it began to sing.

"The signs," Dill said. "They're everywhere."

"I didn't see any signs," James answered.

"They're plastered all along the castle walls," Frank informed him. "I even saw a few outside on the way here."

"Well, what did they—"

James' voice was drowned out by a sudden onslaught of cheering from the House tables, and, upon looking over his shoulder, he realized that the Sorting Hat had finished introducing itself with its yearly song and now sat upon a young boy's head.

"RAVENCLAW!" the Hat shouted, and another round of applause greeted the first-year as he stepped off of the stool he was sitting on and crossed to his new Housemates. James barely had time to recover from the loud shouts when Professor McGonagall glanced down her spectacles at the parchment that she was holding in front of her.

"Black, Regulus!"

Straightening, James craned his neck and watched as Regulus stepped in front of the first-years. As Regulus sat down on the stool and waited for Professor McGonagall to place the Sorting Hat on his head, Sirius leaned forward in anticipation and stared unblinkingly at his brother. Several long beats passed, and James could feel Sirius growing more tense by the second. After several agonizing moments, the Hat finally spoke.

"SLYTHERIN!"

As the table next to them erupted into applause, Sirius sat back with a sigh; looking back at him, James patted his back supportively.

"Sorry, mate," he said.

"Yeah, well, there wasn't much hope anyway," Sirius muttered, lowering his head to the table.

Turning back around to watch the rest of the Sorting Ceremony, James waited while each consecutive student marched to his or her new House's table. "Cresswell, Dirk," went to Ravenclaw following Regulus, and several others went to Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Nearly halfway down the list, Professor McGonagall stopped herself and took a closer look at the parchment before properly Sorting "MacDonald, Mary," and "McKinnon, Mason," to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, respectively. After the last student had joined his table, McGonagall walked to her seat while Dumbledore stood up and raised his arms over the golden pedestal in front of the High Table.

"Welcome back to another year," he announced, his silver beard tied neatly at its end, "or, for you new students, welcome to your first. I have many meaningful words to say, but as the weather outside has left you all wanting for comfort, a warm meal will suffice for now."

Right on cue, a dozen plates appeared in front of James while hundreds of others accompanied them on the other tables. Everyone contentedly dug into the magically-transported food, and soon the entire Great Hall buzzed with conversation between the students and professors.

"So where is Remus at?" Frank asked James, Sirius, and Peter almost immediately.

"We don't know," Sirius answered. "We thought we'd find him here."

"Maybe he missed the train," Frank guessed.

Looking at Sirius and Peter doubtfully, James shrugged. "It doesn't sound like him to be late."

"Can you think of any other reason?" Dill asked unconcernedly, beckoning to a wide-eyed first-year for a platter of chicken. "It's not like he'd quit Hogwarts."

Glancing at his roommates again, James received an I-hope-not look from Sirius as they continued to eat. Nearly an hour had passed before the eating frenzy had finally died down, and Headmaster Dumbledore took the podium again.

"Before you go to your dormitories, I have a few announcements to make. Our staff is pleased to welcome our newest member for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, who has kindly traveled all the way from his home country to fill the post: Alvaro Alamanzar."

A rather short, dark-haired man with a small mustache and a pair of spectacles stood and bowed as the students and other professors applauded him politely. Although his lips moved quietly in rapid thanks, his head humbly nodding up and down all the while, his thick, colorful robes betrayed his well-to-do origins.

"Professor Alamanzar will only stay with us for a year, but his willingness to share his expertise is most appreciated," Dumbledore continued while Alamanzar sat down again and adjusted the clasp on his high, gold-threaded collar. "Also, I would like to remind all first-years that the Forbidden Forest is strictly thus, and no one shall attempt to enter it for any reason. Refrain from using magic in the corridors, and keep to your dormitories during after dark. With that said, good luck finding your way to your House common rooms; I will see you all in the morning."

"What does he mean, good luck?" Mary MacDonald whispered urgently as everyone rose.

"Beats me," Sirius told her, standing up himself. "The statues don't attack _that_ often." When Mary's eyes widened, he joined James and Peter on the way out of the Great Hall.

"Good luck!" James added over his shoulder at her stricken face.

Following the stream of students out of the double doors, James and his roommates trekked towards Gryffindor Tower and greeted the portrait of the Fat Lady at the very top of the winding stairs.

"Well, hello again," she told them smoothly when they approached. "Password?"

Glancing at the others, James met similarly alarmed faces. "Er . . ."

"Password?" the Fat Lady repeated again, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. Just when James was beginning to worry, two fourth-years appeared from behind and nodded at the pink-clad woman.

"Stinging nettle," one of them told her, and the portrait opened obediently to reveal a hole in the wall, which the two students then climbed through.

"Yeah, that," James said, jumping in after them.

"Wait, come back here!" the Fat Lady yelled, but all three second-years had slipped through without a backwards glance.

Once inside, James began to head towards the dormitories, but his eyes were drawn to a large crowd forming in front of the notice board over the fireplace. After glancing at the throng, one of the fourth-years who had entered in front of James shook his head and muttered to his friend, "One of those again." Curious, James led Sirius and Peter towards the growing hubbub and strained to see around the students in front of him.

"Hey, what's going on?" Sirius asked those nearby, and a girl turned around from the back of the crowd. Narrowing her startlingly green eyes, Lily Evans tossed her red hair out of her face as she caught sight of James and the others.

"Long time, no see," James greeted his fellow second-year before nodding at the other students. "What's going on?"

"There's a notice on the board," Lily told him dismissively as if not wanting to waste too much time explaining. "It doesn't concern us."

"It seems to concern a great deal of people," Sirius pointed out.

"Fine, go look at it," she told them, shaking her head and walking towards the girls' dormitories.

Inching closer to the notice board through the crowd, James shoved his way to the front of the throng and read the large letters emblazoned boldly on a poster bearing Professor Alamanzar's strong gaze.

 **Attention all Sixth and Seventh-Years:**

Defense Against the Dark Arts is now mandatory for all

students regardless of whether or not they will receive

a N.E.W.T. on the subject, courtesy of Professor Alamanzar.

See alternative schedules below.

Frowning, James allowed the other students to push him away. Although he would be taking Defense Against the Dark Arts anyway, it was highly unusual for the school to demand N.E.W.T. level students to take a course that they would not need to make it into their professions of interest.

"What do you think that's about?" Sirius asked him as they walked towards the stairs.

"I don't know," James answered, shrugging.

"Well, at least it doesn't involve us," Peter commented disinterestedly, skipping along.

"I guess not," James agreed as he glanced back at the crowd of students, "but I have a feeling that the school will be talking about this for days."


	3. Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor

**The Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor**

The next morning started with Potions at ten, so James, Sirius, and Peter headed down to the dungeon level where Professor Slughorn taught his lessons shortly after breakfast. When they turned the last corner leading to the classroom, they spotted a group of second-year Slytherins huddled together in front of the doorway, discussing something in urgent, hushed tones. As soon as James and the others approached, they quieted and eyed the newcomers warily until they had passed. When he walked by, James spotted his old rival, Severus Snape, who gave him a heavy glare down his hooked nose. Avery, one of the other Slytherins, leaned over as if waiting for Snape to tell him something, but the greasy-haired boy only shook his head as he continued to eye James; James could not help but feel like he was failing some sort of examination.

Even when the Gryffindor boys had taken their places along a row of desks in the back of the classroom, the small crowd of students did not budge from their self-claimed spot, continuing to engage in eager conversation. Whenever another student walked into the room, they would immediately quiet and stare at the intruder as if inspecting them for some sort of invisible sign. Only when Professor Slughorn entered did the group break up and hurriedly scurry to their seats.

"Welcome to your second year of Potions!" Slughorn boomed happily, his golden mustache wiggling. "I assume you all have your materials?"

Methodically reaching into their bags, everyone displayed his or her copy of _Practical Potion-Making_. "Good, then we can begin!" Slughorn said. "Turn to the first chapter, everyone, so that we can begin work on the Tickling Solution. This is not to be confused with the Potion of Good Humor, which simply gives the subject a positive frame of mind instead of subjecting him or her to physical torment, much like that of being tickled. Both can cause uncontrollable laughter if used in large dosages, however; I will be giving a more thorough explanation later in the course . . ."

Sighing wearily, James turned to the correct chapter in his book and began to read. Although quite simple to make in theory, the Tickling Solution did not come easily to his tired fingers, and he started to wish for a vial of the Good Humor Potion. Unfortunately, his mood only worsened when he glanced a few tables ahead and saw Snape stirring his cauldron rapidly yet deliberately, a sure sign of confidence. When James glanced back down at his own potion, a thick, trembling bubble suddenly burst and splattered onto his glasses, which he removed with a curse and wiped clean.

After what seemed like an eternity, the period finally ended, and James was grateful that the class did not have to turn in their work, since the lesson was for "experimental learning." Abandoning the dungeons with a huff, he joined Sirius and Peter on the way up to the Great Hall for lunch.

"This is the second year in a row we've started the term with Potions," James complained, settling himself down at Gryffindor table.

"I'm crossing my fingers for History of Magic next year," Sirius said. When the others stared at him, he explained, "That way I can sleep a bit longer each morning."

James and Peter laughed and began to gulp down their food, though not before James had looked across the hall and noticed Sirius' cousin, Narcissa Black, gesturing fervently as she spoke with her blond boyfriend, Lucius Malfoy. After their heated run-in with Malfoy the previous year, involving both a lethal duel and an attempted thievery of the sword of Gryffindor, James and his roommates had never trusted him; even so, James could not help but ponder Narcissa's upset expression. To his knowledge, the couple had never fought before, and he wondered what would cause Narcissa to look so worried as Malfoy tried to quiet her. As he continued to watch, another Slytherin ran up behind Malfoy and tugged on his sleeve, breaking him apart from Narcissa with an apologetic word as the two ran out of the room. Still unhappy, Narcissa stood immobile for a moment before finally tossing her bright hair over her shoulder and sitting back down at the Slytherin table, slouched and disappointed.

While James continued studying her thoughtfully, Arnold and Frederick passed by and nodded at Peter when he waved amiably.

"Are you off to Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Arnold asked them.

"Yeah, why?" Peter inquired.

Sharing a look, Arnold and Frederick smiled knowingly. "We just had it this morning," Frederick told them. "I think you'll like it."

"Professor Alamanzar really knows what he's doing," Arnold added as they walked towards the double doors. Watching them curiously, James and the others kept their eyes on the stream of students passing in and out of the Great Hall until Sirius suddenly jumped up.

"It's Remus!" he exclaimed, pointing at their roommate as he entered the Great Hall just behind the school's matron, Madam Pomfrey. Although he appeared sleep-deprived, Remus nevertheless smiled widely and waved as he approached.

"What happened?" James demanded as soon as he reached them, scooting aside to make room on the bench.

"I missed the train," Remus answered sheepishly, giving a contented sigh as he sat down.

"Really?" Sirius asked, breaking into a disbelieving grin. "This is you we're talking about, remember? So, what happened, did a dragon attack you or something?"

"No, it just took longer than we thought it would to get to King's Cross," Remus replied, itching the back of his neck. "You know how Muggle streets are."

"How'd you get here, then?" James asked.

"The school arranged for a Portkey to take me."

"A what?" Peter asked, confused.

"A Portkey," Remus repeated. "You can turn any object into one. All you have to do is touch it, and you'll be transported to its set destination." Pointing at Madam Pomfrey, he indicated a wooden spoon that she was holding in her right hand. "Do you see that? She deactivated it as soon as I got here. I would have made it to breakfast, but traveling by Portkey isn't exactly comfortable. She helped stop the dizziness."

"Well, you made it just in time for Defense Against the Dark Arts," James told him, standing up with the others. "We have a new professor now."

"I gathered," Remus said as they walked out of the Great Hall. "The signs are everywhere."

"I hope they take them down soon," Peter voiced when they turned to head up a flight of stairs. "I keep on thinking that the photographs are actual people, and they scare me half out of my wits whenever I turn a corner."

After a few minutes, the small group had seated themselves in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom while Professor Alamanzar fiddled with a few covered cages in the front. Although those in the room watched him intently, Alamanzar did not face them or make eye contact as he continued to perform some unknown task. Eyeing the small man, James waited for him to turn around and acknowledge the presence of his students, but he only glanced towards the doorway whenever a new person entered, nodding sharply and mouthing to himself as if counting the entrants. When the last of the students had finally arrived, he threw back his wine-colored cape and turned to the class.

"Welcome to the Defense Against the Dark Arts," he stated unsmilingly, a slight Hispanic accent permeating his words. "Can someone tell me what is the appearance a doxy?"

Taken aback by his blunt introduction, the students exchanged glances. Finally, Remus slowly raised his hand.

"They're tiny, four-legged and armed creatures covered in black fur," he answered. "They also have wings."

"Why should we study the doxies in this class?" Alamanzar asked him.

"Because their bites are venomous," he replied.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Alamanzar crossed to one of the cages behind his desk and brought it forward so that the whole class could see. Shrinking back, Alice Newshod gulped.

"Does this creature match your description?" Professor Alamanzar asked, and he ripped off the cage's covering. Immediately the whole class oohed appreciatively, leaning forward in admiration at the tiny, human-like creatures sitting in the center of the cage. One of the captives yawned haughtily and played with a strand of her colorful hair, extending her shimmering wings.

"Fairies!" Hillary Vance exclaimed in awe, and the whole class buzzed with excitement. Seeming to take satisfaction in their reactions, Professor Alamanzar nodded to himself and opened the lock of the cage. Sensing freedom, one of the fairies jumped onto his outstretched finger and whirled around in a sort of dance for the students, drawing a round of admiring applause. As soon as the fairy had finished, she and her friends flapped into the air and fluttered around the room, a handful of them landing on top of Alice's head. Jumping up, James tried to grab one as it floated over him, but it maneuvered rapidly away and stuck its tongue out at him before flying towards the opposite side of the room.

"Do you like?" Professor Alamanzar asked, smiling for the first time, and the girls immediately let out cries of affirmation.

"They're beautiful!" Lily said, holding her hand out for one of the fairies as it slid down her hair.

"But sir," Sirius interjected, "weren't you going to show us a doxy?" Immediately, the whole class turned to peer curiously at the professor as he shook his head and wandered back to the other cages.

"There is no need," he stated simply. "You have already provided a much satisfying description. What is the difference between a fairy and pixie?" he asked suddenly, picking up one of the other cages and walking back towards the class.

Raising her hand, Lily replied, "Pixies are less humanoid, their skin is brightly-colored, and they're typically larger than fairies."

" _Sí_ , _sí_ ," Alamanzar agreed impatiently, placing the cage down on his desk next to the fairies'. "But on a practical level?"

After a moment's hesitation, Lily answered, "Well, they're more mischievous."

Nodding once again, Professor Alamanzar took off the cage's covering. Two forest green creatures leapt towards the bars of the container, smiling devilishly at the students and letting out a high-pitched chattering that rung in James' ears. Letting out a flurry of buzzing, the fairies around the room immediately dove into hiding; when Alice tried to remove one from behind her ear, it zipped into the folds of her robes.  
"Those aren't pixies," Remus objected suddenly, eyeing the cage carefully.

"Correct," Professor Alamanzar acknowledged. "You can explain?"

"They're too dark, and they look too much like . . ." Trailing off, Remus glanced at the fairies trembling behind Alice's braids. Looking at the fairies as well, James noticed the similarities between them and the creatures in the cage. Although larger and more vicious in appearance, the caged beings had distinctly human-like faces and tiny ears.

"Doxy venom is harmful, _sí_?" Professor Alamanzar asked the class, and everyone watched him intently while he tapped the cage beside him. "These are fays: fairies under the influence of Dark magic. Sometimes they are mistaken for the pixies at this stage of their transformation, so powerful is their change. These particular fays were created by the bite of a doxy. Although not so dangerous for wizards, doxy venom can still cause unwanted symptoms. This is the reason why we will spend time studying the treatment for such bites. Please, take out your books."

Their attention undivided, the students immediately obeyed and spent the rest of the class session engaging in a cause-and-effect discussion with Professor Alamanzar, who seemed very well-versed in medical practices. Using the blackboard behind him as an aid, he illustrated wand techniques and treatment procedures without referring to any notes. Although James felt bombarded by the amount of information presented, he enjoyed the lesson immensely; the very atmosphere of the classroom was quite pleasant due to the fairies fluttering lazily around the room, having come out of hiding when Professor Alamanzar covered the fays back up.

At the end of the class, the students exited the room in a state of excitement, conversing amongst themselves about the teaching style of their new professor.

"If he keeps bringing fairies to every lesson, I think I'll actually like the subject," Hillary announced on their way out.

"He does seem to know a lot," Remus agreed with her.

"What do you mean he _seems_ to know a lot?" Sirius demanded. "That was more information than we had during our entire first year!"

"I hope he brings in a hag next time!" James said eagerly.

"A hag?" Peter squeaked worriedly, and Alice gave James a concerned look.

"Or a vampire," Sirius added, curving his fingers into claws and lunging at Peter. "Or a werewolf!" Jumping backwards, Peter let out a terrified yelp.

"Do you think he would?" Peter gulped.

Sighing, Remus said, "He's not going to bring in a were—"

"Imagine the claws on one of those!" Sirius continued, grabbing Peter's stomach. "They could rip into the skin of a giant and still be sharp enough to grab you for dessert!"

Hillary giggled when Peter jumped, but Remus pulled him away from Sirius. "Stop it, you're going to scare him!" he warned.

Safely behind Remus, Peter said, "I liked the fairies. I hope he uses them again."

"This is Defense Against the Dark Arts, Peter!" James reminded him, rolling his eyes. "I hope we get a little experience with the big stuff!"

"So do I!" Peter defended. Then, as an afterthought, he added, "As long as the big stuff is smaller than I am and doesn't breathe fire, suck blood, or turn into a rabid beast . . ."

"Where's the fun in that?" Sirius asked, and Peter closed his mouth as Hillary gave a shrill giggle again.

"Lupin's right," Lily told Peter, sighing. "I suspect fays will be the worst thing that Professor Alamanzar lets into the class." At her words, Remus shifted uncomfortably, and James suspected that he did not want the others to redirect their annoyance towards him.

"That's not true, Evans," Sirius piped up as everyone deflated. "I'm pretty sure he teaches Snape."

Turning as red as her hair, Lily glared at him angrily while the others laughed. "Will you give it up for just one moment?" she demanded. "Honestly, it's like dealing with a six year old!"

Turning away, she led the other girls down the hall and left the boys standing alone; James turned and shrugged at the others, Sirius repeating the gesture.

"I still hope that Alamanzar brings in a vampire," Sirius said, "but I doubt nothing will be as terrifying as Evans when she's angry."


	4. The Minister's Visit

**The Minister's Visit**

Sitting in the History of Magic classroom, James stifled a yawn as Professor Binns droned on in his dull monotone voice to the second-year Gryffindors. Oftentimes during History of Magic, when James was especially sleepy, he could take off his glasses and look right through the ghost professor, almost not seeing his shimmering outline at all; however, today James could not fall asleep no matter how hard he tried, so he resorted to restlessly tapping his fingers on his desk while he stared out of the window longingly.

"A proud pureblood, Salazar Slytherin tried to convince Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff to limit their Houses' students to those of pure wizarding families. The other founders would not relent, and a row ensued between Gryffindor and Slytherin, sending the latter away from Hogwarts permanently. Some say he left to the upper regions and trained students who met his criteria, but the existence of such a school was never proved . . ."

Sighing, James watched the Forbidden Forest in silence. He could not spy Hagrid's hut from his position, but he knew it stood just out of his line of sight. In fact, he thought he saw a wisp of smoke blowing from its direction.

". . . descendants have refused to respond to questioning or even acknowledge any such rumors . . ."

After a few moments, James decided disinterestedly that the smoke could not be coming from Hagrid's cabin. It grew fainter the closer it traveled to the castle, and the source had to be deep within the Forbidden Forest, judging by how quickly the fog petered out. Besides, the smoke was old; it had a dark gray, almost black color, and it disconnected in several places as if burning out. Fingering an unused quill on the desk, James wondered what the centaurs were doing late last night in the forest.

All of a sudden, the room erupted into motion as the students began packing their belongings and shuffling towards the door. Looking at the clock on the far wall, James followed their lead as Professor Binns continued speaking; oblivious to the commotion, he talked dutifully on until someone dropped their books loudly in the first row and jerked him out of his stupor.

"Oh, time already?" he asked, glancing at the clock as well. "See you all next week, then . . ."

Completely ignoring him, the students exited and stifled their yawns while they headed for their other classes. After leaving the classroom, James joined his roommates on the way out.

"I don't know how many times I've heard that story," Sirius told the others on their way to Herbology. "If I hear one more lecture about the glory of Salazar Slytherin and his legacy, I'm going to go mad."

"It was all new to me," Peter said. "I didn't know that he left the school."

"Apparently, no one knows what happened to him after he left," Remus spoke up from behind _Hogwarts: A History_.

"Eh, he probably became a hermit on some faraway mountain and died with his stash of Firewhiskey," James guessed, shrugging. "I don't think that he could have started another school without someone finding it after all these years."

"Still, it's not like his ideology died out," Remus put in. "If he began teaching children his beliefs . . ."

"It's not like he needed any help with it," Sirius interjected. "There are plenty of other wizarding families who agree with him."

"But loads of those families are descended from him, right?" Peter asked.

"Sure, but not all of them," Sirius answered. "It's rubbish to think that he started the whole pureblood nonsense by himself."

"Do you think that he started a school after Hogwarts?" James asked Remus, who closed his book.

"No," he replied. "It's very unlikely."

"Well, that settles it," Sirius announced, clapping his hands. "My next essay for History of Magic will be about the idiocy of Salazar Slytherin and everyone in his House, focusing mainly on the malarkey of his opinions and the superiority of Gryffindor."

"Don't forget the Quidditch Sweep of 1513 to 1576," James spoke up.

"Ah, yes, when Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup for sixty-three years straight," Sirius approved, nodding. "If that doesn't convince Professor Binns, nothing will."

"You two are really strange," Remus told them, and James and Sirius laughed as they walked out onto the school grounds. However, James suddenly sobered as he spotted an unusual sight in the distance.

"Not nearly as strange as that," he said, pointing. Looking ahead in the indicated direction, the four boys jogged past the greenhouses and towards the front gate of Hogwarts, where a collection of older wizards and witches were gathered. Spotting Dumbledore just in front of the crowd, James drew to the side with a group of curious Hufflepuffs, who had also been sidetracked from their journey to Herbology.

"It's the Minister!" Rachel Appleworth gasped suddenly, and the students began whispering excitedly while James stepped forward for a closer look.

Surprised, he immediately recognized the Minister, Eugenia Jenkins, from photographs in _The Daily Prophet_. Her golden hair bounced in a loose bun as she faced Dumbledore, and although she was rather young, several wrinkles around her eyes disclosed the pressures of her position. Several reporters stood clustered around her and Dumbledore, each one holding a camera or eagerly jotting notes down with a quill.

Seeing that the group had brought unwanted attention, a tweedy man stepped out from the congregation and pushed the students back. "Quiet, children! Keep quiet, please!" he pleaded, making sure that they did not intrude into the view of the cameras. Noticing the students, Dumbledore shot them a sideways glance before turning his annoyed expression back to the Minister.

"When you requested a private chat, I assumed that you knew the definition of the phrase," he told her reproachfully, standing so as to not let the reporters pass beyond the gates. Unabashed, the Minister shook her head and set her bun to bouncing again.

"You know that I never travel alone," she responded, "and I was hoping that you could give some reassurance to the public. They adore you, you know."

"I have given the public quite enough assurance," Dumbledore replied, "but I prefer to do so outside of school property. This is supposed to be a place of learning, not propaganda."

Shaking her head as if knowing she could not convince him otherwise, the Minister turned and addressed the reporters. "Go on, then. Best leave us be, or I'll never get that chat."

Somewhat despondently, the reporters turned away and trudged outside the gates. One of them stopped over a small keychain lying in the grass and looked back at the Minister.

"Pick me up in an hour," she told him with a wave of her hand, and he nodded and bent down for the chain. With a sudden twisting motion, his body disappeared as if being sucked into a vortex, and the other reporters found objects of their own in the field and began to vanish on the spot.

"Portkeys," Remus whispered to his roommates as the tweedy man started to shoo the students away.

"Go on, go on, run back to your business! Nothing to see here!"

Disappointed, the small group retreated a few paces before watching curiously as Dumbledore invited the Minister to walk towards the castle. Eyeing her bouncing golden bun as she accepted his offer, James turned back to his friends.

"Well, that was interesting," Remus commented. "What do you think the Minister is here for?"

"Let's find out," James suggested, heading up the hill after the pair. Jumping forward, Sirius fell into step behind him while throwing his books unceremoniously onto the ground.

"Wait!" Remus called out, casting worried glances back at the Hufflepuffs heading for the greenhouses. "It's almost time for Herbology!"

"So?" James yelled back.

"We can't just leave!" Remus exclaimed. Looking back and forth between Remus and the others briefly, Peter started running up the hill as well.

"Wait!" Remus cried again, but the others paid him no attention. Trudging towards the castle, James watched as Dumbledore and the Minister disappeared behind the great double doors. After a moment, Remus came up beside him.

"If we get into trouble, I'm going to kill you," he sighed, dropping his book bag onto the grass.

Together, the four stepped into the Entrance Hall and looked around for a sign of Dumbledore and the Minister. Unfortunately, the pair had apparently already left the area in search of somewhere quieter.

"Up here!" James beckoned, and they ran up the nearby stairs and headed for the gargoyle hall on the second floor. When they rounded the corner, they spotted their quarry at the end of the hallway, where they were entering through the hole in the wall that led up to the Headmaster's office. After they had disappeared, the four boys sprinted towards the gap, which began to close as the gargoyle that normally covered the opening slid back into place.  
" _Stupefy!_ " Sirius yelled, pointing his wand at the statue. A jet of red light erupted out of his wand tip, and it smashed squarely into the gargoyle, causing it to freeze in place. Looking self-satisfied, Sirius pocketed his wand while the others stared at him.

"Where did you learn that?" Peter asked, astounded.

"Malfoy, last year in Dumbledore's office," Sirius replied, suppressing a smile as they passed the gargoyle. "You know, just picked it up."

Quietly climbing the winding stairs which led to the office, the four tiptoed to the door and leaned forward to listen through the wood. Judging by the sounds of footsteps and moving cushions, Dumbledore and Jenkins were probably sitting down near the center of the room, just in front of the far window.

"We shouldn't be here," Remus whispered nervously, glancing back down the stairs. Putting their fingers to their lips and glaring at him, James and Sirius turned back to the door.

"Thank you for agreeing to speak with me," the Minister thanked Dumbledore, her voice slightly muffled. "I know how busy your schedule must be."

"I assure you, it is," Dumbledore answered, but he kept his tone polite. "Now I believe that I explicitly told you to keep the Hogwarts grounds media-free."

"Ah, but I thought that you knew the importance of public interest," she replied lightheartedly. "If I spent my days locked up in my office, nothing would ever get done, and the people would certainly revoke my position."

"The only opinions that I am worried about are those of my students," Dumbledore told her placidly.

"Ah, the mighty Albus Dumbledore, always the family man," Jenkins sighed. "You could have been so much more, you know."

"This is not the point of your visit, and I am quite happy where I am," he answered. "Now, what do you want to see me for?"

"And always to the point," Jenkins said. "I was wondering if you know the extent of the danger that our community is in."

"No one is more familiar with the threat that Lord Voldemort poses than I am."

"Then you know how quickly his army is growing. He has influence, Albus, influence far greater than I ever suspected one person could possess. I'm afraid that he's already infiltrating the Ministry, and I fear for Hogwarts as well."

"Although I understand your concern, I assure you that there is nothing going on within the grounds that I do not know about," Dumbledore stated firmly. "I have my eyes open."

"Still, if we combine forces under the public eye, the people would feel more secure," the Minister argued. "They respect you, perhaps more than they respect me. If you could just give an appearance at the Ministry, I'm sure that the Dark Lord will think twice before he—"

"The Dark Lord doesn't think once," Dumbledore interrupted, "and I highly doubt that he would hesitate just because we shake hands and smile for the cameras."

"Albus!" Jenkins exclaimed, but Dumbledore cut her off.

"I am grateful for your concern, but my place is here."

"You belong with the Ministry as well," Jenkins put in with a hint of anger behind her voice. "Do you forget that you are the Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot? I thought that you held the Ministry in high regard."

"As everyone should, but I think that your efforts are best spent elsewhere," Dumbledore responded. "I believe that we would do the most good where we are: you protecting the people, and I training a new generation of wizards. You are in constant need of reinforcements, correct? I have them for you right here: just give me a few years."

"Children are hardly equipped to fight a war."

"But they will be. On the one hand, I can do nothing other than prepare them for the danger that lies ahead. Powers of persuasion do not work on unwilling minds. However, I can assure you as to the quality of their education. In fact, following the recent addition of another member of staff, I have required all students to take Defense Against the Dark Arts for their personal safety."

"Are you speaking of your new hire? Wasn't his name Alamanzar?"

"Yes, receiver of Quixote's Cross, Second Class, for his experiments in medicinal spell-work. Frankly, I could not think of a better candidate for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts. However, as I am sure you are aware, Hogwarts is full of instructors above and beyond the qualifications for the job. Minerva, Filius, Pomona, and Horace in particular are well-versed in their subjects."

"Yes, yes, but aren't you a little concerned about this Alamanzar fellow?" Jenkins inquired. "He isn't from our neck of the woods, so to speak, and he may not have the knowledge that we do about the Dark Lord—"

"I can think of no one more qualified. If I had any worries, I would not have hired him. As things stand, the only thing that I need concern myself with are the four boys listening outside of this room."

Alarmed, James did not have time to move as the door swung open from the inside, apparently manipulated by Dumbledore from his spot on the couch; astounded, the Minister stared accusingly at James and his roommates.

"If you are going to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, try to do it more subtly," Dumbledore told them. "Gargoyles have ways of communicating, you know." Turning back to Jenkins, he stood and said, "Tea at your place next time. I really must be getting back to work. As you see, I have a lot on my hands at the moment."

Nodding succinctly, the Minister stood and crossed to the door, giving the boys a hard glare as she brushed past them and headed down the stairs. Fearfully, James turned back to Dumbledore.

"You four had better get going," the Headmaster spoke, hands clasped behind his back. "You have a class to attend, I believe?"

"Yes, sir," they chorused quickly before back-pedaling out of the door before he could change his mind and give them detention.

"That was close," Peter exhaled on the way down.

"I don't think that he likes to give out punishments," Sirius began. "Remember how he—"

"Don't be daft," Remus snapped. "He obviously didn't mind that we heard the conversation, otherwise we would be on our way to our Head of House right now."

"Are you saying that he knew where we were the whole time?" James asked.

"Regardless of whether he did or not, he obviously wanted us to hear the end," Remus answered. "He wasn't about to let us go without affirming the safety of the school."

"The Minister was just being paranoid," Sirius said dismissively. "I honestly think she's losing it. Remember all those Muggle attacks last year? She wasn't able to do a thing without Dumbledore there backing her up."

"That's why she's trying to get him to help again," Remus informed them. "Everyone trusts him, and the public will stay happy with the Minister if they feel safe under the protection of two superpowers."

"Isn't that cheating?" James asked.

Remus shrugged. "It works."

"Do you think Dumbledore was being serious when he said that he was training an army?" Peter asked, both awed and nervous.

"He sure sounded serious!" James replied excitedly. "Just think: he's preparing us to defeat Lord Voldemort!"

At the mention of Voldemort's name, Peter gasped nervously and glanced over his shoulder while Remus grabbed James' arm. "Don't be ridiculous; we're not about to fight anyone! Dumbledore was just saying that to make the Minister happy." Although Remus spoke harshly, James caught a flicker of doubt in his eyes.

"I, for one, would love to be in the thick of things!" Sirius attested. "We'd get to hunt down Death Eaters, fight duels every other day—"

"Keep your voice down," Remus hissed, glancing around. "We weren't even supposed to hear their conversation."

"I thought you said that Dumbledore didn't mind," James pointed out, and Sirius laughed as Remus gave him a sour look. "What if he wants us to be prepared? What if he wants us to start training for battle?"

"Oh, come off it," Remus told him. "If you aren't going to listen to sense, just don't spread any rumors, all right? Let's keep this to ourselves."

"War affects everyone, mate," Sirius interjected with a grin, receiving another scowl.

"Don't worry: we won't tell anyone," James promised. "Dumbledore didn't tell _them_ , did he?"

Smiling smugly, he turned back to his own thoughts. If Dumbledore had really intended for them to hear his conversation, what did it mean? Was he just trying to convince them of Hogwarts' safety, or was he trying to tell them something? Looking over his shoulder at the gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office, he regarded it thoughtfully; although he would keep his promise to Remus, Dumbledore's words were sure to bother him for the next few weeks.


	5. Slytherin's New Captain

**Slytherin's New Captain**

After a few weeks, James spotted a poster on the common room's notice board advertising the time and place of the House Quidditch tryouts. Because he could not make it to the tryouts last year due to some late-night detentions, he was determined to keep his slate clean before the set date. Remus, of course, kept on reminding him to be grateful that Dumbledore had been in a forgiving mood that afternoon with the Minister, but James just brushed him off good-naturedly. Ever since missing what turned out to be a crucial Herbology lesson, Remus had fallen into a state of almost constant irritability quite unlike his usual good humor, and James decided to simply ignore his grouchiness until it wore off.

Peter had likewise grown unpleasant, thanks to an extra period of Transfiguration that he had earned after failing to transform his _Transfiguration Revealed_ textbook into a dinner plate. Since the session fell directly on the day of tryouts, he had appealed to Professor McGonagall's competitive side in order to change the time of their meeting, but she had denied his plea by pointing out that she had far too many other classes to teach to rework her entire schedule. She ended by advising him to spend more time practicing his assignments instead of daydreaming about broomsticks, and he had remained sullen ever after.

Nearly a week before tryouts, a group of carrier owls made their usual entrance into the Great Hall via the enchanted ceiling during breakfast, and James spotted Hardwin struggling to fly with a package much too long for his tiny body. Several Gryffindors cried out in warning before flinging themselves back as the small owl swooped down and sent several goblets cascading away from his careening body. Skidding to a halt in front of James, Hardwin quickly jumped up again and gave his tufty head a ruffle to compose himself before nipping his master sharply on the hand and fluttering unsteadily away. Eyeing the ribbon-adorned package curiously, James grabbed the note stuck to the wrapping and opened the envelope.

 _James,_

 _I got your last letter about Quidditch tryouts, and your mother and I decided to give you a little gift to put you on your way. Good luck!_

 _Potter Sr._

Heart racing, James abandoned his plate and grabbed the end of the long package excitedly as Sirius watched in anticipation. After a moment, James had uncovered a bundle of dried bristles, and Sirius jumped to his feet.

"No way!" he cried loudly, and he helped James uncover the rest of the broomstick with impressive speed. Watching wide-eyed as James lifted his gift into the air, Remus and Peter did not attempt to hide their shock as their mouths fell open in unison; both looked as if they had never seen anything so expensive in their lives.

"It's an Airwake!" Sirius exclaimed, rubbing the broom handle down. Several of the Gryffindors who had been watching let out gasps of astonishment and disbelief as they quickly gathered around.

"Crikey, an Airwake!" Frank repeated, reaching out to touch the broomstick.

"That's the fastest model yet!" Arnold announced, amazed. "It only came out a few months ago! How did you manage to get it, James?"

"Don't you already have a Cloudsplitter upstairs?" Remus asked James, completely dumbfounded.

"Yeah, but it's got nothing on this!" James answered distractedly. "It's no problem: you can have my old one."

Shocked, Remus tried unsuccessfully to form a reply as Peter chimed in. "Can I take it for a ride?" he petitioned, suddenly back to his usual, excitable self.

"James should try it first!" Dill admonished him.

"Yeah, James, take it outside!" Frank begged, and soon the others joined in, pushing James out of his seat.

Not needing anyone to encourage him, James headed for the Great Hall's double doors and ran past the amazed expressions turning from the other Houses' tables. The rest of breakfast hour, he tested out his new ride in front of the lake as his Housemates cheered him on and took turns riding the new model. James had not thought it possible, but the Airwake was even easier to maneuver than his old Cloudsplitter, and it was by far the faster broom. Perfectly balanced, it responded to his slightest movement; once he leaned a bit too far to the right and completely flipped over, a trick which brought much applause from below, and he decided to accept the undeserved credit. When he eventually began to get a better feel for his broomstick, he dismounted the Airwake and started to head back towards the castle for his first period, but Frank caught his arm as the rest of the crowd began to disperse.

"I'd wish you luck for the tryouts, but I don't think you need it," Frank told him, and James felt his heart soar as they went their separate ways.

Soon enough, the Wednesday of tryouts had come, and James excused himself from Gryffindor Tower in the early afternoon to practice in the open field next to the Quidditch pitch beforehand. Although he was the first to arrive, several other Gryffindors had come up with the same idea and showed up half an hour later to get ready. Most of them flew on their personal broomsticks, but a few had borrowed brooms from Instructor Zunderfield's stockpile in the school. The other students kept to themselves, but James spotted a few of them giving him and his Airwake sideways glances as he zoomed in tight circles around the field.

When the time finally came to head onto the pitch, James placed his broom over his shoulder and headed for the center of the field with the other contestants, where the current five members of the Gryffindor team had queued up. At the end of the queue, Frank gave him a grin next to the other Chaser, a muscular, dark fifth-year named Rudolph King. King was wearing a stoic expression, and James noted with curiosity that he had never seen the older boy so much as smile before. Next to him, Michael Palmer and Raul Medilla were whispering to each other and laughing, probably making jokes about the hopeful contestants as they gestured with their Beaters' bats. Standing in the front of the group with her arms crossed was a serious-faced girl that James recognized as the Captain. She had her brown, waist-length hair tied in a high ponytail, and her Quidditch robes still managed to look sharp and crisp despite their frequent use. Something about the way she cleared her throat made James wonder if he had met her somewhere before, but he could not think of an answer before she spoke.

"You're all here for the same reason, so let me cut to the chase," the girl announced, her loud voice ringing across the pitch. A few of the listening students choked back giggles, and the Captain turned her head sharply to glare at them until they quieted solemnly. Clearing her throat, she began again, "I'm not interested in Beaters or a Seeker, but we have openings for the other two positions. We'll start with the Keeper tryouts. The rest of you wait for your turns in the stands."

Turning away, James walked to the stands with a small huddle of the other contestants, and he waved at Sirius when he spotted him seated a few levels above. Climbing up to join him, he sat down on the bench and shivered in the slight wind.

"Where are the others?" James asked, disappointed that his other roommates were nowhere to be seen.

"Peter has an extra period with McGonagall, remember?" Sirius reminded him, and James nodded.

"What about Remus?"

"It turns out that he has an extra-credit assignment with her, too," Sirius answered, pulling his robes closer over his body as a cloud passed over the falling sun.

"Remus has never had any trouble in Transfiguration," James said, confused.

Sirius shrugged. "Well, that's what he said. He didn't look too happy about missing the tryouts, though."

Somewhat mollified, James nevertheless asked, "How can McGonagall work with both of them at the same time?"

"Beats me, but it sure isn't going to stop her," Sirius answered. "You know how she is." Then, gesturing towards the Captain as she called away the first unpromising competitor from the goalposts, he added, "It looks like you won't have much chance for messing around, either. That's her niece, Morgan."

"Oh," James said, watching while the next student flew to take the other's place apprehensively. "That explains a lot."

"She's supposed to be really good, though," Sirius commented, nodding thoughtfully. "She got an award for her Captaining last year."

"But Gryffindor didn't win the Cup last year," James pointed out.

"She didn't get it for winning," Sirius told him. "She saved the Keeper from being pummeled in the head by a Bludger while he was already down."

Gulping, James turned apprehensively back to the field to watch the prospective Keepers, wondering just how often the Captain had to save one of her teammates from imminent death. For the next hour or so, he waited while the students attempted to defend the three goalposts from Frank and King as they pelted Quaffles in their direction. At first, no one showed any real promise; two students nearly fell from their brooms while trying to grab the ball, and one boy became sick after it thudded directly into his stomach. However, a few older students later managed to successfully defend the hoops from every attack, and Morgan hosted a quick conference with the rest of the team before turning again to the stands.

"We're going to conduct this part a little differently," she announced. "The Chasers will all come onto the field at the same time. Your goal is to score as many points as you can while avoiding the Bludgers hit from Michael and Raul." On either side of her, Michael and Raul raised their clubs in greeting. "We'll rotate the Keepers."

Bidding Sirius farewell, James headed out onto the pitch, mounted his Airwake, and rose into the sky. None of the other contestants seemed to want to approach the others, so they kept several meters apart as they hovered in the air. Morgan motioned to one of the better Keepers to guard the goalposts, and the competitors regarded him with unease before Michael unlatched the two black Bludgers from their container and tossed the Quaffle into the air.

As the Bludgers shot upwards, quivering excitedly at the prospect of knocking unsuspecting students from their brooms, half a dozen of the impatient Chasers dove at the Quaffle; three younger Gryffindors crashed straight into a burly sixth-year, and they all spiraled out of control while another player grazed the tip of the red ball with her fingers, only managing to knock it into another boy's head. The students barely had time to compose themselves before Michael and Raul rose into formation and swung at the Bludgers, sending them rampaging through the group clustered in the center of the field. Three young girls, unable to see the balls' approach from behind the sixth-year, nearly fell off their broomsticks when the older student dove and allowed the nearest Bludger to careen into the others. Dismayed, James watched as a freckly boy zipped towards the three hoops at the end of the field with the Quaffle and leaned too far back for the throw, accidentally losing the ball in the process. Another student raced forward to grab it, but she ended up smacking into the right pole while the Keeper observed silently from above.

Flying closer to the action, James kept his eye on the Quaffle as a student caught it and flew towards the goalposts, tossing it forward. The Keeper blocked it easily, and James took his chance and zoomed downward; however, Raul made contact with a Bludger at that exact moment from above, and James barely had time to perform a tight spin to avoid the ball. As he straightened out and continued towards the Quaffle, another Gryffindor suddenly knocked into him from the side in an attempt to avoid the other Bludger. Momentarily breathless, James grunted in annoyance while the Quaffle fell to the ground and the Keeper retrieved it. Glancing towards the center of the pitch, James saw Morgan sigh and shake her head, and it looked like the only thing keeping Frank from laughing was the impressively passive form of King beside him. At the looks on their faces, James' frustration suddenly turned into determination, and he quickly approached the other contestants.

"Listen up!" James yelled, and everyone turned to look at him in surprise. Gesturing towards the three golden hoops, he announced, "This isn't how the game works! How are we supposed to get close to the goalposts if we keep knocking into each other?"

A few students exchanged glances, and the sixth-year crossed his arms irritably. "Well, do you have any bright ideas?" he asked.

"Half of you follow me, and the rest split up above and below," James commanded. Throwing another round of hesitant glances at each other, the students looked as if they were about to object, but James cut them off before they could speak. "Come on!"

Surprised at his booming yell, the others leapt into motion and obeyed his command, flying back and forth uncertainly for a moment before separating into three distinct groups. Satisfied, James caught the Quaffle in midair as the Keeper threw it in, turning towards the goalposts and rushing their way with the other Chasers behind him.

"Bludger to the left!" a girl suddenly cried from above, and James did not even take the time to look up as he banked to the right. Swishing angrily through the air, the ball missed him and the other students by a comfortable distance thanks to the warning, and they continued flying unimpeded. Raising his arm, James faked a throw to the left hoop, but he tossed the ball above his head as the Keeper responded to his movement and dove to the side.

"Coming up!" James warned, and the freckly boy caught it and threw it to the right. Surprised, the Keeper quickly switched directions and leaned forward desperately, attempting to block the Quaffle's path. At the very last second, he nicked the ball with the handle of his broom and sent it falling back down to the grass, and he straightened with a smug look at the Chasers from where he now hovered several meters away from the goalposts.

However, his smile quickly fell into an astonished gape when James, mounted on his Airwake, shot upwards with incredible speed and sent the Quaffle towards the unguarded central hoop with a smack from his broom's handle. The ball soared through the opening, and a cheer erupted from the students in the air. Smiling, James looked down at the dumbfounded Keeper and winked before floating away.

"Way to go, James!" Frank yelled from the ground, pumping his fist in the air. Next to him, Morgan raised her eyebrow slightly, unable to stop a small smile from curving her mouth.

Rising back up to the goalposts, the Keeper pouted while the others ignored him in favor of their newfound hero, but their attention was soon even diverted from James to a small group of students entering the pitch, their broomsticks slung over their shoulders. At first, James thought that a few late Gryffindors had come to join the tryouts, but he soon recognized the Slytherin Quidditch uniforms, and he lowered his Airwake to the earth as Morgan turned and crossed angrily to the intruders.

"What's the meaning of this?" she demanded, marching to the front of the group and clenching her fists threateningly. Running up behind her, James recognized Lucius Malfoy near the back of the group, looking around the pitch with a bored expression until he met James' eyes and gritted his teeth as if tasting something unpleasant. The frizzy-haired girl just to his right seemed oblivious to Morgan's acidic tone, and she gestured to the field unconcernedly.

"We have practice," she answered in a high, bright voice.

"Not until another half hour, Vanity," Morgan reminded her none too politely.

"Never hurts to be here early," Vanity replied with a flashing smile. "I'm the new Captain, don't you know? Laughalot graduated last year."

"I heard," Morgan replied dryly.

Surprised, James frowned and glanced at Malfoy; the sharp-nosed blond was widely renowned in Hogwarts for his Quidditch skills, believed by many to be the best Chaser on the Slytherin team. Although he had not wanted to believe it, James had fully expected him to be appointed as Captain during his final year at Hogwarts.

"I replaced him as the third Chaser, of course," Vanity told Morgan happily, and although Malfoy was watching the conversation with a disinterested expression, James thought that he caught a glimmer of resentment in his stare. "My father was the Captain during his years at Hogwarts, don't you know? He suggested me to Professor Slughorn during the summer, and he even got me a new broomstick and uniform."

Now understanding the reason for Malfoy's displeasure, James felt a smirk slowly spread across his face. "Nice to have family in high places, eh, Malfoy?" James goaded, grinning. After shooting a lethal glare at him, Malfoy turned away icily while Morgan studied James thoughtfully.

"Let's not waste time, Emma," Malfoy told Vanity impatiently.

"Don't mind us," Vanity said to Morgan, a smile still radiating her face as she motioned towards the stands. "We'll just wait over there while you finish."

Morgan opened her mouth to object, but the Slytherins had already begun to walk towards the stands. Arms crossed like a statue, King waited until they had left hearing range before commenting deeply, "Doesn't hurt that they get to see the new recruits." Seeming to agree, Morgan glared after the Slytherins, but she soon turned back to the expectant students now gathered on the ground.

"Up in the air!" she commanded, and everyone mounted their brooms again to continue the tryouts. The Keeper hovered hopefully in front of the goalposts, but he lowered disappointedly when Morgan waved him down.

Time passed much more quickly after the exchange with the Slytherins, mostly because Vanity and her team proved extremely distracting despite the Captain's promises. Everyone in the air kept throwing glances back at where the Slytherins sat in the stands, watching the tryouts intently; even the Gryffindor team observing from the grass seemed perturbed by the relentless stares. However, Morgan conducted the rest of the session as if nothing was out of the ordinary and eventually called the students to the ground.

"That's all that we have time for," she yelled out so that everyone could hear. "We'll post the results before next week!"

Turning away, the contestants conversed excitedly in small groups, although James guessed that they were more concerned with the watching Slytherins as opposed to the tryouts' results. Standing up, Vanity and her team approached the center of the pitch as the Gryffindors cleared out, but James suddenly stopped as Morgan grabbed his arm.

"Welcome to the team," she told him with a smile, raising her voice unnecessarily, and Malfoy grimaced in their direction as he passed. Smirking at him, James turned around and ran towards Sirius.

"I'm in!" James told him, and Sirius responded with a grin and a congratulatory clap on his back.

"I knew you'd make it!" he praised before pointing over his shoulder at the Slytherin team. "What was that all about?"

Shaking his head angrily as they walked back towards the school, James replied, "They just happened to have practice right after the tryouts, and they arrived early so that they could check out the competition."

"I see," Sirius responded, kicking at the grass. "It's too bad that you didn't have tryouts before theirs, or you could have spied out their team instead. I think that blonde girl is new."

"Yeah," James answered with a grin, itching to tell Sirius his story. "About that . . ."

As they continued to the castle, James filled Sirius in about Malfoy and his failure to become Quidditch Captain. By the time they had climbed up Gryffindor Tower, Sirius was about as delighted as he had been when James first ran into him on the Hogwarts Express that year.

"Brilliant!" he crowed, bounding up the final stair with a spring in his step. "I guess that Malfoy should have played in the final match last year, eh? At least then he would have had a chance!" He laughed victoriously before turning to the Fat Lady where her portrait hung in front of the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. "Demiguise."

Although the Fat Lady appeared hopeful for news about the tryouts, Sirius unceremoniously slammed her face into the wall as soon as he had delivered the password, climbing inside as she howled and rubbed her nose.

"Uncouth ruffian!" she called after him. "You might as well have just slashed a hole in me!"

Passing the crackling fireplace in the center of the room, the two boys climbed up to their dormitory and slipped inside. Once they had opened the door, Peter, who was studying a long roll of parchment, quickly jumped up from his four-poster.

"How did it go?" he asked excitedly.

"You'll see me in the first game of the season!" James told him proudly, placing his Airwake against the wall, and Peter gasped in pleasure.

"I knew you could do it!" he exclaimed, accidentally knocking against the roll of parchment and sending it toppling to the floor.

Watching its descent, James asked distractedly, "When is Remus getting back?"

"What?" Peter asked.

"Remus," he repeated. "He was going to meet up with Professor McGonagall, remember?"

"No, that was me," Peter told him, confused.

"Remus told Sirius that he had to do an extra assignment or something," James explained, sighing and rolling his eyes.

"Oh," Peter said. "I don't know. I didn't see him."

"You didn't?" Sirius asked disbelievingly. As Peter shook his head, Sirius looked from him to James and back again. "Where has he been all this time?"

As both of the others shrugged, James looked out of the window at the darkening sky. "He'll get here eventually. We'll just have to tell him about the tryouts later. It's already pretty late."

"Vanity was really desperate, wasn't she, scheduling a practice session at this hour?" Sirius huffed, smirking as he craned his neck to see the Quidditch pitch through the dark.

"Who?" Peter asked. Grinning, James and Sirius looked at each other.

"The new Slytherin Captain," Sirius began to explain, but he suddenly froze as something on the ground below the tower caught his eye. "Hey, look at that!"

"What is it?" James asked, and Sirius opened the window to point downwards. Leaning closer, James spotted several dark shapes silhouetted by the bright light of the full moon. Walking rapidly, the small group of people shuffled along until they vanished behind the castle's far wall.

"Where are they going?" Peter questioned, having peered over James' shoulder curiously.

"Maybe they're going to Hagrid's," James suggested, although he did not believe it himself. As far as he knew, no one ever went down to visit the Gamekeeper in his cramped, one-room hut.

"Do you think that they were teachers or students?" Peter asked.

"I don't know," Sirius answered. "I couldn't see them very well from way up here. They could have been anybody."

"Let's hope that they get a good look at the Slytherins' practice," James commented, turning away from the window. "I want to know what Malfoy's face looks like whenever Vanity orders him around."

Again, Peter looked confused, so James and Sirius eagerly started explaining the details of the tryouts as the night drew on.


	6. The Missing Boggart

**The Missing Boggart**

Caught up in the excitement of being chosen for the Quidditch team, James could not fall asleep at first because of all the thoughts running around his head. However, he finally managed to drop off after an hour or so of tossing and turning, and he remained unconscious until the rising sun shone through the window and onto his face. Rolling over, he felt a sudden pain shoot through his spine thanks to a crick in his neck, and his head throbbed dully after his dreamless sleep.

Despite his discomfort, he sat up immediately after spotting the empty four-poster next to his and looked around the rest of the dormitory. On one side of him lay Sirius, still asleep; to James' right, Peter's legs hung over the side of his mattress like those of a limp rag doll; just beside James' four-poster drifted the window curtains, caught in a breeze flowing through the crack left open from the night before. However, after James had completed a sweeping analysis of the room and turned back to look at the fourth four-poster, he felt the panic in his chest begin to swell. Leaping up, he crossed over to where Sirius lay snoring under his covers and shook his shoulders.

"Wake up!" he hissed urgently. Groaning, his friend lifted his head and yawned sleepily while James rushed over to Peter and prodded him as well. "You too, Peter!"

"What is it?" Peter asked, sitting up willingly despite his weariness.

"Remus isn't here!" James answered, gesturing towards the empty four-poster. Sitting up abruptly, Sirius stared at the undisturbed comforter as Peter gasped in surprise.

"I thought that he would slip in after we fell asleep!" Sirius said, jumping up and searching under the four-posters as if Remus was hiding just out of sight.

"Where do you think he is?" Peter asked, clambering hurriedly off his mattress. "If he was caught out of bed after hours, he could have been sent to detention or worse! What if—"

"Not him," James interrupted, shaking his head. Running back to his four-poster, he quickly slipped on his robes. "Something must have happened to him if he didn't make it back. We have to find him."

"Let's check the hospital wing," Sirius suggested immediately, grabbing a shirt stuffed under his four-poster. "Even if he isn't there, we should tell Madam Pomfrey in case he's hurt."

Changing as quickly as they could, the three boys rushed down Gryffindor Tower and sprinted through the hallways in the direction of the hospital wing, Peter keeping up as best as he could while he struggled for breath. To the surprise of several other students, they zipped by the Great Hall without so much as a glance in its direction and continued their hurried pace around the next corner. After passing a few more doors, they burst into the hospital wing and caused several students in the white cots lining the room to jerk upright in surprise. Ignoring the stares, James and the others ran down the unusually-packed ward and skidded to a halt in front of Madam Pomfrey, who looked up in surprise from where she was bent double over a fourth-year.

"Madam Pomfrey, is Remus here?" James demanded. Startled, the matron did not answer right away, and he continued urgently, "He didn't make it to our dormitory last night, and we think that something happened to him. We need to find him before—"

"What are you doing here?" a voice interrupted him from behind, and James spun around to stand face-to-face with Remus, who was staring in surprise at his roommates. His shirt collar stuck up at an unusually high angle under his disheveled hair, and he had two dark circles under his eyes.

"There you are!" Sirius exclaimed thankfully, and Peter exhaled in relief. "We were looking for you!"

"You came all the way down here just to find me?" Remus asked, still confused.

"Of course we did!" James replied. "You didn't come back to our room last night. Where were you?"

"I'm sorry to put you to all that trouble," Remus apologized sheepishly, fiddling with his collar. "Peeves chased me into a broom closet with a spear and locked me inside. I was stuck in there for almost the whole night until Filch found me."

"Then what are you doing here?" Sirius questioned, confused.

"Uh," Remus stammered, glancing at Madam Pomfrey, "I wasn't feeling too good after I got out. I'm allergic to dust."

Sharing a glance with Sirius, James shrugged. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," Remus answered. "I was just on my way out." Giving one last backward glance at Madam Pomfrey, who still looked caught off-guard from the whole exchange, James joined the others as they walked out of the hospital wing.

After clearing his throat, Remus asked James, "So, how were tryouts?"

"Oh, I made it," James replied distractedly, and Remus smiled brightly, the motion causing his collar to fall a few inches.

"Congratulations!" he said, but the others had suddenly grown quiet, staring at his exposed neck; immediately sensing his error, Remus pulled his collar back up to cover the long scratch a little below his ear, still an angry red color as if it had only just stopped bleeding.

"What's that?" James interrogated, but Remus shook his head dismissively.

"It's nothing," he answered.

"Did Peeves get you with the spear?" Sirius asked, and Remus shrugged noncommittally.

"Why didn't you tell Madam Pomfrey?" Peter asked. "She can mend it in a second."

"I didn't want to bother her with it," Remus replied quickly.

"We can go back," James insisted. "We can ask her to—"

"It's too late now," Remus interrupted sharply. "Classes start in a little while. Besides, she has enough students to attend to."

Detecting a slight scoff in his tone, James threw a glance back at the hospital wing's door. "Yeah, there seemed to be a lot of people in there. Do you know what happened to them?"

"They're lucky to be alive," Remus told him. "Apparently, someone started a game to see who could get close enough to the Whomping Willow to touch the trunk."

"What's the Whomping Willow?" James inquired.

"It's a big willow tree that was planted on the grounds last year," Remus explained. "Surely you've seen it before?"

"How did all of those students get injured, then?" Sirius asked. "It's just a tree."

Shaking his head vehemently, Peter piped up, "I once saw it punch a hole in the ground as big as a giant when a bird hopped too close to it! That thing's mental!"

Glancing at James briefly, Sirius asked him, "Do you think that's what those people were doing last night?"

"You saw them?" Remus questioned, surprised.

"We saw a group of students walking on the grounds from our window," James informed him. "I thought that they were going to the Quidditch pitch or something, but now that you mention it, they could have been heading for the forest."

"I hope they've learned their lesson," Remus stated, shaking his head. "The Willow shouldn't be played with."

"Well, everyone who landed in the hospital wing just had the wrong idea," James teased, elbowing Sirius in the side with a grin. "You have to be riding a broomstick to be quick enough to avoid the branches!"

Unamused, Remus turned a threatening glare on the two of them as they laughed. "If you even think about—"

"I'm only joking," James told him, but Remus did not look comforted.

"You'd better be," he threatened softly as he turned away.

The roommates returned to the Great Hall for a quick breakfast, but James insisted on heading to Defense Against the Dark Arts a few minutes early in order not to miss anything. Agreeing only too eagerly, the others followed his lead and arrived at the classroom with a quarter of an hour to spare, and they found Professor Alamanzar already fiddling with a tall cabinet in the front of the room. As they entered, he greeted them with a nod, but he did not move away from his work, leaving them to watch him in silence. For the next several minutes, he experimentally tapped the top drawer as if placing protective barriers over it, and James thought that he saw the cabinet shiver a few times. Eventually, the other Gryffindors entered and took their places around the room, and Alamanzar straightened to face the class.

"What is definition of boggart?" he asked. Now used to his straightforward teaching style, the class was prepared; immediately, half of the students shot their hands into the air.

"It's a non-being that changes its appearance to resemble someone's worst fear," Lily stated matter-of-factly when Alamanzar nodded at her.

"How does one repel the creature?" This time no one offered an answer, everyone turning to look at each other instead. Turning around to face the blackboard, Professor Alamanzar quickly drew a word in decorative cursive.

"The appropriate banishing charm is pronounced 'Riddikulus,' but the spell alone will do nothing. You must think of something fun to get rid of boggart. Laughter destroys it. Think of your worst fear and find a way to transform it into a spectacle. For example . . ."

Trailing off, Alamanzar opened the top drawer of the cabinet with a flick of his wand, and James leaned forward eagerly, expecting a dark figure to rise out of opening. However, he was surprised when nothing climbed out of the drawer; instead, the wall behind Professor Alamanzar suddenly changed, growing larger and more spacious by the second. Almost immediately, rows of chairs and desks spawned to fill up the new space, each seat occupied by a person staring expectantly at Alamanzar. The new scene looked like a near-perfect replica of the actual classroom, but the new section of the room was much more crowded, and even James started to feel unnerved by the hundreds of staring eyes.

Lifting his arm, Professor Alamanzar pointed his wand at the newcomers and announced, " _Riddikulus!_ " At once, James and his classmates burst out laughing as the hundreds of eyes in front of them looked down in horror to see themselves in their underclothes. Pleased by the students' reactions, Alamanzar turned around and gestured invitingly with his wand.

"You want to try?"

Instantly, the students sprang out of their chairs and began to form a queue under Professor Alamanzar's guidance, everyone eagerly taking out his or her wand. Finding herself unexpectedly at the front of the line, Hillary grew uneasy and glanced behind her towards the others, but Professor Alamanzar took her arm and led her to the front of the room.

"No, come here, do not be shy," he told her, and she gulped as she faced the underwear-clad students.

Watching intently, the rest of the class gasped as the illusionistic scene dissolved and the room shrank back to its original size, the rows of extra desks vanishing abruptly. Scared, they took a few steps back as a ten-foot troll stood over the cabinet, bearing a heavy club and blinking stupidly down at Hillary. She looked like she wanted to faint, but she lifted her wand and faced the creature bravely.

" _Riddikulus!_ "

Slowly, the troll adjusted its gaze to its hand in astonishment as its fist slowly rose, lifted by the oversized balloon that it now held in place of a club. Laughing, the other students pushed the shocked Hillary away, and Lily replaced her in the front of the queue. When she stepped forward, the troll disappeared, and a crack ripped apart the floor just in front of her until the room resembled the edge of a cliff. Although she looked slightly queasy, Lily extended her wand steadily, recited the incantation, and stepped forward off of the ledge. Alarmed, James almost cried out until her foot hit some invisible barrier and she bounced up as if supported by a giant spring.

Jumping forward, Sirius held his wand at the ready as the scene transformed again, this time displaying a tall mirror with a person reflected on its glassy surface. At first, James thought that the mirror was not working properly, but he soon realized that the person facing Sirius was Regulus, the top of his dark head standing a few inches shorter than his sibling's. Shaking his head, Sirius gave a short laugh and waved his wand at the mirror, making it shatter into a thousand pieces on the floor.

"I'm next!" James exclaimed, pushing his way forward. As usual, the boggart's previous form disappeared, and James held his breath excitedly as he held out his wand. However, after several long moments, nothing had come to replace the shattered mirror, and James lowered his wand in confusion as the students behind began to whisper amongst themselves.

"Did we defeat it?" Alice asked Professor Alamanzar, who was staring at the empty spot with surprise. Although a little disappointed, James put his wand away and grinned at the rest of the class.

"I guess I don't have any fears!" he joked, and Lily rolled her eyes as the others began giggling, the tension released. Still perplexed, Alamanzar quickly ushered James to the back of the line and brought Peter forward expectantly.

No sooner had Peter approached the front than a large shape appeared in front of him, and James briefly wondered why the boggart had not responded to him. However, the thought quickly flew from his mind as Hillary screamed, and he snapped back to attention as he stared down at Peter's boggart, now in the form of a snarling werewolf. Baring its fangs, the werewolf growled at Peter, who had frozen in fear, his mouth halfway open. Dragging its claws across the floor with a painful ripping sound, the monstrous creature took two menacing steps forward, and Peter finally seemed to jerk out of his stupor.

" _Riddikulus!_ " he cried, raising his wand with a flinching rapidity. Growling deeply, the werewolf remained unperturbed and started running towards Peter, sending the students behind him scurrying out of the way. Alarmed, Peter shot off several more spells in quick succession as he backpedaled frantically.

" _Riddikulus, Riddikulus, Riddikulus!_ "

Bombarded by the spells as it lunged forward, the werewolf shrank mid-flight and fell to the ground, becoming a harmless puppy. The girls in the back giggled with delight, and Peter straightened, looking pleased with himself. As he walked towards the back of the line, Sirius cupped his hands around his mouth to yell at him.

"Look lively, mate! It'll get you next time!"

Turning crimson, Peter smiled shyly as he joined the back of the line, and James turned back to where Remus now stood in front of the class only to come face to face with . . . himself. Standing in front of Remus was a perfect replica of James: his familiar round-lensed glasses were perched crookedly on top of his nose, and his black hair stuck up untidily in the back. However, the fake James did not wear his expression of shock, donning instead a look of pure disgust as he eyed the frozen Remus up and down critically.

Utterly dumbfounded, James glanced from his twin to Remus and then back to Sirius and Peter, who both stared ahead with an equal amount of surprise. When James looked back at the boggart again, he watched as it transformed once more, although this time into an identical copy of Sirius. Wearing an expression of wide-eyed shock, the second Sirius quickly backed away from Remus as if he would catch an illness by standing too close to him. Finally, when the fake Sirius had in turn been replaced by a terrified-looking Peter, Remus unfroze from his rigid position and waved his wand.

" _Riddikulus!_ " he cried, and Peter immediately fell onto his back and burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Eventually, most of the other students began to giggle as well, but James and Sirius remained impassive as Remus pocketed his wand and slipped out of the classroom, unnoticed by the others.

Looking back towards the front desk, James spotted Professor Alamanzar staring at the door as well, wearing an expression of surprise. After a moment, he seemed to compose himself and glanced back at the waiting students, clearing his throat. "No more today," he told them, and he turned away to flick his wand at the boggart again, confining it to the cabinet drawer as the class groaned.

Although James wanted to run after Remus, he knew that it would be nearly impossible to find him in the winding hallways of the castle. Sharing one last look with Sirius, he merely turned back to his desk and collected his belongings, purposefully hanging back while the other students left the classroom. When Sirius and Peter waited for him by the door, he waved them ahead, and they left him alone with Professor Alamanzar where he was fiddling with the boggart's drawer. Finding James at his side when he turned around, Alamanzar stared down at him in surprise.

" _Sí_? Would you like something?"

"Yes," James answered, unsure of how to begin. "I was wondering why . . . well . . ."

"Are you wondering about your friend?" Alamanzar guessed.

"Yeah," James replied sheepishly. Eyeing him thoughtfully, Alamanzar rubbed his mustache for a moment.

"He does not fear you," he finally said, turning away to set another protective spell over the shivering cabinet.

"How do you know?" James asked.

"Unlike a troll, which must only exist to create fear, your image portrayed an emotion. This is what he fears, not yourself," Professor Alamanzar answered simply.

Confused, James stared at the ground. He could not think of a reason why he would ever look at Remus the way the boggart had. James had only ever regarded one person in his life with that much loathing, and that person was a whole House away . . .

"Professor?" James piped up again, and Alamanzar turned to face him. "I was also wondering: why didn't the boggart work on me?"

"The only way to defeat a boggart is to overcome fear," Professor Alamanzar corrected, but he eyed James carefully. "But I wonder—do you have fear of being alone?"

Surprised, James frowned. "I don't think so. At least, not that I've ever noticed. That seems like a pretty silly thing to be afraid of."

"You would be surprised," Alamanzar answered, but he smiled. "Maybe you are right. You may have no fears at all." James grinned, and Alamanzar spoke again with a voice of suppressed interest. "If you do not mind telling, what was the meaning of your other friend's boggart? Does he pride himself on his good looks?"

"Oh, that was Sirius' brother in the mirror," James answered. "Sirius doesn't like his family very much, because they approve of the Death Eaters and all that."

Confused, Professor Alamanzar tilted his head slightly. "I am sorry?"

"The Death Eaters," James repeated. When Alamanzar continued to stare, he explained, "You know, Lord Voldemort. The pureblood supremacist."

"Ah," Alamanzar finally said, nodding. "I remember reading from _The Daily Prophet_. Your Minister gave a speech."

"I bet she did," James muttered.

After a pause, Alamanzar stated matter-of-factly, "Headmaster Dumbledore does not approve of Dark Lord. Why?"

Surprised, James stammered, "Well, Voldemort thinks that pureblood wizards are better than Muggle-borns. The Death Eaters attacked some Muggle towns last year."

"No one was hurt, _sí_?"

"No, they didn't really do much. A Quidditch player was sent to St. Mungo's, but I think that she just got in the way," James answered. Nodding thoughtfully to himself, Professor Alamanzar rubbed his mustache for a moment and murmured silently until James slowly began to back towards the door.

"We will talk the next class," Alamanzar said in farewell, turning around again towards the cabinet. Nodding, James exited the room and closed the door on the professor's contemplative form before running down the hall to join his friends.


	7. The Whomping Willow's Victim

**The Whomping Willow's Victim**

As Morgan had promised, the new recruits for the Gryffindor Quidditch team were announced via poster in the common room the following week, featuring both James and Joseph Bender, one of the better Keepers from the tryouts. Several students that James had never seen before approached him in the corridors to congratulate him, and he secretly suspected that Frank or some other member of the team had let slip his show in the tryouts. Almost overnight, a new hope seemed to spark in the Gryffindors regarding the coming season, and they began to talk in earnest about the first match against Ravenclaw; Ravenclaw had won the Quidditch Cup for three years running, and even Hufflepuff and Slytherin felt a need for a change of power.

It did nothing to ease James' excitement that his first game would be against Ravenclaw, and Morgan certainly seemed to feel the need for intense training sessions. In just one week, James had attended four different practices on the Quidditch pitch, one of them devoted entirely to theory-based tactics. When Morgan caught Raul yawning jokingly at the mention of strategies, she had him complete thirty laps around the field before returning to the board—all without a broom.

"Legs bent, shoulders in!" Morgan yelled at James and the other Chasers as they ripped by with the Quaffle during a late-week practice. "Come on, you can go faster than that! Be thankful that I'm not making you chase the Snitch!"

"Would she really do that?" James called to Frank over the roar of the wind whipping through his ears.

"Don't bet against it!" he yelled back, leaning back and tossing the ball to King, who in turn threw it at James when they reached the goalposts. Catching it briefly before letting go, James sent it sailing towards the left hoop, but Joseph blocked it without much effort. Annoyed, James sat back on his Airwake.

"We're going too fast to fake a shot!" he complained to the others.

"Then get closer!" Morgan called to him from her nearby-hovering broomstick, apparently having overheard. "We have a good chance of throwing the Keeper off by getting close, especially with your broom! I want you to use your speed to our advantage."

"Hold on: this can wait," King announced, putting the discussion to a stop and pointing at the ground below, where a group of emerald-clad students were walking onto the pitch with their brooms over their shoulders. "Our spectators have returned."

Immediately stopping their work, the Gryffindor team dropped to the ground to confront the Slytherins, who stopped in the middle of the field and waited for them to approach. In the front of the Quidditch team, Vanity stood with her hands on her hips, smiling cheerily while Malfoy wore a much smugger look beside her. Noting their confidence, James narrowed his eyes suspiciously as Morgan stalked up to them with her fists clenched.

"Can I do something for you, or are you hoping to aid us?" Morgan asked scathingly. "If you haven't noticed, we're rather busy."

"So sorry, darling, but you have to leave," Vanity told her, her beam unwavering. "We're going to practice."

"Are you?" Morgan responded, and her eyebrow raised. "I thought that's what _we_ were doing," she said, gesturing towards her team.

"I would clear off if I was you," Malfoy drawled with a slight smile. "You might regret it otherwise."

"Exactly on whose authority are we supposed to leave?" Morgan demanded, crossing her arms. "I'm a prefect just like you, and Vanity and I are both Quidditch Captains. You can't kick us off of the pitch."

"I'm well aware of your accomplishments, but Professor Slughorn just signed a note that I think you should read," Malfoy replied lazily, producing a slip of parchment from his robes. Next to him, the other Slytherins smirked as he began to read aloud. "The Slytherin Quidditch team hereby has permission to use the pitch outside of official match times. Any other person or organization may not keep them from practicing."

"That's rubbish!" Frank exclaimed as the other Gryffindors buzzed with outrage. "He can't favor his own House just to keep us from practicing!"

"Our game's in a little over a week!" James added as Malfoy pocketed the note with a self-satisfied smile. "You can't just take the pitch!"

"Well, if you object, I could always report you to the staff," Malfoy told him smoothly. "What'll it be? Either hand the field over or spend the next few weeks in detention."

To James' right, Michael and Raul looked like they wanted to take their bats to Malfoy's head, but King held his hand out in front of them warningly. Glaring at Malfoy and Vanity, Morgan gritted her teeth.

"You can't get away with this for long," she told them. "I'm going to speak to our Head of House about this."

"Ah, but that's just the problem," Malfoy started knowingly, rubbing his chin in a mock gesture of concentration. "Your Head of House is the last person you want to contact. I checked with Argus Filch earlier this year," he explained, glancing briefly at Vanity, "and nepotism within the Quidditch league is strictly forbidden. If you can prove it, there are serious repercussions, some of which include academic and personal inspection, suspension, and expulsion . . ."

Paling as the Slytherins snickered, Morgan clenched her broom handle until her knuckles turned white. After a moment, she spun around and marched out of the pitch, the rest of the team following loyally behind her.

"Don't worry," she told them through gritted teeth. "We'll find a way around it."

"The question is how soon," Frank spoke up, throwing one last scathing look over his shoulder at the laughing Slytherins.

"I bet that they have a list of our practice times," James guessed. "They'll just show up whenever we have something scheduled."

"We'll just change our practices until I can talk sense into Professor Slughorn," Morgan said. "He was probably just talked into it by Malfoy without considering what it would mean for the rest of the teams. I'll let you know when things can go back to normal."

On the way back to the castle, James silently fumed at Malfoy's sly plan. Obviously, he had spent a lot of time thinking of how to hurt the Gryffindors as much as possible before their first game, and James felt a pang of guilt for the others walking beside him. Probably fueled by his hatred for James after their run-in last year, Malfoy had devised a way to make the entire Gryffindor team suffer in the most critical of moments. Convincing the Hogwarts staff to review an order given by one of the Heads of Houses could take weeks, and by then the Gryffindors' first match would be long over.

Looking up, James eyed the dark castle in the distance and considered mounting his broom to make the journey go by faster, but he decided against to remain with the rest of the team. As he continued to stare ahead, he spotted the large form of Hagrid, the Hogwarts Gameskeeper, emerge from his faraway hut and take a few steps out onto the grounds, pausing as if squinting at something. Suddenly jumping into motion again, the oversized wizard rushed back into his hut only to fly back into view seconds later with his loyal boarhound, Fang, dashing quickly behind him. Waving his arms frantically, Hagrid pounded off until he and Fang vanished behind the castle.

"What was that about?" Frank asked, having also seen the spectacle, and he started to jog in the direction Hagrid where had disappeared.

The rest of the team followed him curiously, and they eventually arrived at where Hagrid had stood outside of his hut just a minute before. Now they could all see him a short distance away, standing in the midst of a large group of students gathered around a gigantic, thrashing tree. Observing its swishy branches and obvious anger, James guessed that the students must be surrounding the Whomping Willow. When he got closer, however, James was surprised to find Sirius, Remus, and Peter standing near the back of the crowd, struggling to peer over the many heads in front of them. Running up beside them with the rest of the Quidditch team, he finally drew their attention, and they spun around to face the new arrivals.

"James! Frank! You're here!" Sirius exclaimed, pointing through the excited crowd. "The Willow's got someone!"

Briefly glancing at the concerned faces of his other roommates, James stood on his tiptoes to look over the heads of the watching students. As Sirius had said, the Whomping Willow was clutching an unfamiliar Hufflepuff in its long branches, suspending him high above the earth as it shook him back and forth.

"I know him!" Peter announced, staring up at the trapped figure with fear in his eyes. "His name is Davey Gudgeon; he's a year behind us. He once found my scarab beetle when it ran away during Charms."

As James continued to watch, the Willow shook Gudgeon violently and turned him upside down, drawing a few screams from the crowd. An agonizingly short distance away from the tree's victim, Hagrid swatted his bulky arms at the Willow's branches in an attempt to get close enough to rescue the student, Fang barking threateningly from farther back.

"Back off, yeh bloody shrub!" Hagrid yelled, but the Whomping Willow only raised its prisoner higher and slashed at Hagrid again, who took the blow with surprising immobility.

"He'll be killed before Hagrid can get to him!" Alice cried out, standing nearby with Lily at her side. Surprised, James also spotted Regulus a short distance away, staring unblinkingly up at the Whomping Willow with his thin eyebrows narrowed.

"He's as good as dead," Regulus commented to no particular person. He spoke softly, and James realized that it was the first time he had heard him speak.

More screams called James back to the immediate situation, and he looked up as the Whomping Willow started to tighten its grip on Gudgeon, who was now unconscious. Whacking at the tree's pelting appendages in earnest, Hagrid bellowed a string of curses at the Willow as it lifted its captive higher and contracted the branches around him.

"We have to do something!" Remus cried out, deathly white and the closest to absolute panic that James had ever seen him. Mind racing, James looked around until his eyes rested on the Airwake still clutched in his fist. An idea quickly formed in his mind, and he mounted his broom.

"I'm going up," he announced, and everyone standing nearby turned to stare at him.

"You can't!" Lily protested, more as a rebuke than as an exclamation of concern. "You'll just get yourself killed!"

"I have an idea that might work," James continued, ignoring her and turning to the Quidditch team. "Can one of you help me?"

"I will," Frank immediately volunteered before the others, who were still surprised by James' sudden outburst, could react. "What's the plan?"

"Just follow me and send whatever spells you can at the Whomping Willow," James told him. "We need to give Hagrid enough time to rescue Gudgeon."

Out of the corner of his eye, James saw Regulus regarding him carefully, but he ignored him as he launched into the air with Frank just behind him. Zooming up over the Whomping Willow, he pulled out his wand and started blasting every spell that he could think of at the lashing branches while Frank did the same to his right. Overwhelmed, the Willow's branches curled inward defensively before shooting forward in an attempt to snatch the riders off of their brooms. Rolling to avoid the attack, James straightened and aimed another hex at the tree before looking at where it held its prisoner in its clutches. Alarmed, he realized that the Willow had not loosened its hold—if anything, it had squeezed Gudgeon still tighter. Realizing that he had to act quickly to save Gudgeon's life, James pointed his wand at the cocoon-like formation surrounding his small body.

" _Relashio!_ " he cried, and the bonds around Gudgeon immediately slackened.

Writhing in fury, the Whomping Willow sent another volley of branches shooting at James, who quickly shot away. Glancing downwards, he spotted Frank pelting the tree's limbs just above Hagrid's massive form, and with a final roar of determination, the large man broke loose and charged through the flailing branches. Within moments, he reached Gudgeon's side and pried him free, quickly turning around to race back out of harm's way with the boy cradled protectively in his arms. In a final burst of rage, the Whomping Willow reached for Hagrid and grasped at his legs, but it only managed to trip him as he barreled through and collapsed on the grass. Settling to the ground, James hopped off of his broomstick and watched as the crowd of spectators surged forward and surrounded Hagrid.

"Get off, get off!" Hagrid cried, getting onto his hands and knees. Immediately quieting, the crowd stilled and watched apprehensively as the Gameskeeper bent down to put his ear against Gudgeon's chest, his tangled beard pressing against the boy's stomach. After a moment, Hagrid scooped Gudgeon up once again and jumped to his feet.

"Move aside! Get out of the way!" he commanded, hurrying to the castle through the rapidly parting students. With him in the lead, the others dashed towards the double doors of the castle while James ran forward to join his roommates.

Falling into step beside them, he asked, "What happened?"

"Gudgeon was trying to touch the trunk when it grabbed him," Sirius answered. "We didn't come until after the Willow had already gotten him."

Nodding understandingly, James glanced at Peter to observe his reaction, and he saw that his eyes had grown twice as large as their normal size. Next to him, Remus had started shaking, and James was surprised to see that he looked even more frightened than Peter. Even the Gryffindor Quidditch team appeared to have forgotten about their encounter with the Slytherins in light of the recent events, and they all hurried worriedly after Hagrid.

When the small group entered the castle, Hagrid bustled straight ahead until turning into the hospital wing, a few curious students joining the crowd as it passed by. Spotting Hagrid, Madam Pomfrey rushed from the back of the room to help lay Gudgeon down on the nearest open bed, followed quickly by Professor McGonagall, who had just been speaking with the matron further inside.

"'E's 'urt pretty badly, Poppy," Hagrid told Madam Pomfrey when the boy fell limply into place. "The Whomping Willow grabbed 'im."

Oblivious to the dozens of spectators gathered around her, Madam Pomfrey took in a sharp breath at the sight of Gudgeon's bruised face and rushed to a cabinet full of supplies. "I'll have to start work immediately," she announced, grabbing a bottle of some mysterious substance and running back to the bedside.

"Is he going to be all right?" a concerned girl near the front asked.

"This is the worst I've seen," she replied shortly before bending over her charge. To the left, Professor McGonagall looked sharply at Hagrid, and he did not wait for her to open her mouth before answering her unspoken question.

"'E must 'ave tried to touch the trunk," he explained. Closing her eyes, McGonagall pressed her lips together tightly, looking much more dangerous than when she was yelling. Finally, she turned an icy stare at the students gathered around the room.

"Whether he decided to act on his own or was prompted by others," she began slowly, giving a piercing glare at a few downcast first-years near the front, "I expect you all to learn from this. Any rules that we provide are strictly for your safety as well as others', and that especially goes for the more temperamental objects around the school grounds. I would never have thought it necessary to explain such an obvious fact."

"Neither would I," Madam Pomfrey added, eyes narrowed from concentration as she straightened and shook her finger at the students. "I've had quite enough of this nonsense. The next person who comes into this room because of the Whomping Willow will have to report to their Head of House."

"They'll have to do a great deal more than that," McGonagall agreed, crossing her arms. "I'm going upstairs to demand that Albus put a stop to this outrage at once. After reviewing the situation with you, Poppy, it's time that I did something about this." Turning around, she stalked out of the hospital wing while Hagrid followed behind.

"Go on, get out of here!" Madam Pomfrey told everyone still standing around the bedside, shooing them away. "He needs privacy."

A few of the students turned away grudgingly, but most of the group hurried curiously after Professor McGonagall and Hagrid just before the former paused in front of the central staircase.

"Thank you for bringing him in," McGonagall told Hagrid tightly, and he scratched the back of his ruddy neck uncomfortably.

"Only glad tha' I could help," he said. "It wasn't me who got 'im down, though—you 'ave James an' Frank to thank for tha'. I wasn't goin' to reach 'im in time."

Resting her hand on the railing, Professor McGonagall turned to look at the Quidditch team standing nearby. Catching her eye, Morgan nodded; surprised, McGonagall gave James and Frank a small smile. "I cannot thank you enough, but in the future, I don't want you going anywhere near that tree. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Professor," they replied in unison, and McGonagall turned and quickly ascended the staircase.

Smiling at James and Frank as well, Hagrid headed out towards the grounds, and the other students slowly trickled away towards their separate destinations. To the right, Regulus gave James one last scrutinizing look, glanced briefly at Sirius, and turned away to disappear in the crowd of departing students.

After Lily and Alice had both left as well, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and the rest of the Quidditch team began trudging in the direction of their common room. King gave the password to the Fat Lady when they reached the top of Gryffindor Tower, remarkably collected despite the commotion, and James halted only a few paces inside the common room as the others passed by.

"Great flying," Michael praised on the way to the inner staircase, and Raul gave both James and Frank a pat on the back before disappearing. Although they did not say anything, Morgan and Joseph each nodded in their direction respectfully before heading off. Once everyone but Frank and his roommates had left, James turned to look at the others.

"That was something else, wasn't it?" Frank asked, giving a small laugh.

"Yeah, quick thinking, James!" Sirius agreed, flashing his white teeth.

"I can't believe that you saved him!" Peter echoed. Noticing Remus' silence, James turned to face him and saw his features were still a deathly white.

"Is something wrong?" James questioned.

Staring at the ground, Remus dug his toes into one of the many soft carpets blanketing the wooden floor. "You both might have gotten hurt," he answered quietly.

"Well, we didn't," James pointed out, twirling his broomstick's handle. "If it wasn't for us, Gudgeon might have ended up a lot worse, too!"

Still downcast, Remus just shook his head again and turned away. "I'm going to get ready for bed."

As he vanished up the stairs, the others watched him silently for a few moments. With a sheepish shrug, Frank turned and smiled at the others. "Not a bad idea, actually. I'll see you all later."

Voicing their goodbyes, James and his remaining roommates turned towards where Remus had disappeared and climbed up the winding flight of stairs leading to their room. Hoisting his Airwake up after him, James opened the door to their dormitory and stepped inside to find Remus on his four-poster, still wearing his collared shirt over the pajama bottoms that he had just changed into. At the sound of the door, Remus jumped and stared wide-eyed at the others as they entered the room.

"We decided to join you," James told him, placing his Airwake against the wall and pulling off his robes.

The red now returned to his face, Remus flashed a quick, almost pained smile before reaching above his head and pulling the curtains of his four-poster so that they hid him from view. A few scuffling noises sounded from behind the curtains, and James shared a questioning look with Sirius as the latter pulled off his robes as well and changed into his nightwear. After a few moments, Remus pulled open the curtains again and quickly stuffed his button-down away, now fully dressed in his pajamas. Without a word, he quickly slid under the protection of his comforter, and Sirius threw James one last raised eyebrow before turning away and climbing into his own four-poster.

Confronted with thoughts of his own, James lay awake on his mattress for a while, unable to rest after the excitement of the day. However, his exhaustion from Quidditch practice finally caught up with him, and he fell into a sleep plagued with strange dreams full of angry trees chasing after him and his roommates.


	8. Ravenclaw's Match

**Ravenclaw's Match**

As promised by McGonagall, James found a notice on the Gryffindor common room's bulletin board early the next morning concerning the Whomping Willow. According to the rumors floating around the school, Madam Pomfrey had only barely managed to save Davey Gudgeon the use of his left eye after the previous day's incident. Dumbledore had answered Professor McGonagall's request by forbidding any further attempts at reaching the Willow's trunk, and he stated in a new decree that he would not allow students to even approach the tree lest they be heavily punished. After the notice appeared on the wall, there were no further problems, and everyone stayed far away from the Willow.

On the other hand, Morgan was so far unsuccessful in her attempt to earn back Gryffindor's Quidditch rights, and she put together a new schedule for the rest of the team. Unfortunately, their sessions never lasted long, because the Slytherin team kept on interrupting them only after a few minutes at best; James began to suspect that they had spies throughout the castle informing them of their rivals' whereabouts. Of course, James knew that the setback could only last for so long once the other professors realized how unfair Slughorn's order was, but the match against Ravenclaw was quickly approaching. All the Gryffindors could do was count on the quality of their previous practices and hope for the best.

Finally, the day of the match arrived, and James woke an hour early due to his eagerness. After changing into warm clothes to protect him from the wind, he ate a quick breakfast in the Great Hall with his roommates, who eyed him throughout the meal silently.

"Do you think that you're ready for the match?" Remus finally asked. "I mean, do you think that you've practiced enough?

"The question is, is the match ready for me?" James responded, and Sirius laughed.

"Come on, have you seen James on a broomstick?" he demanded of Remus. "Ravenclaw's dragon meat!"

"Yeah!" Peter agreed in the midst of swallowing from his goblet of water, and he started coughing violently as the others stood up.

"Let's go!" James insisted. "I can't wait any longer." Together, he and Sirius ran off towards the exit, Remus hurrying quickly behind.

"Wait—wait for me!" Peter hacked, pushing himself up.

The four jogged out into the hallway, turning left towards the Entrance Hall so that James could reach the Quidditch pitch early to change into his uniform. However, before they could make it to the central staircase, Lucius Malfoy rounded a corner with two other Slytherin students and blocked their path.

"In a hurry, are we, Potter?" Malfoy asked, smiling infuriatingly down at the second-years. "Is there something you need to get to?"

"Yes, in fact, there is," James told him shortly, trying to find a way around them. The two Slytherins behind Malfoy were both larger if not taller than their leader, and they did not leave any room on either side of him. Giving up, James decided to try and talk his way out of it. "You know full well that there's a match today. Don't act like you haven't been trying to sabotage our team all week."

"You shouldn't speak to a prefect like that," Malfoy admonished him, shaking his head. "I'm going to have to take ten points from Gryffindor for your attitude. Oh, and I believe you also accused me of sabotage, so I'll make that twenty."

Bristling beside James, Sirius spoke up as Malfoy turned to him with a curled lip. "Why don't you just stuff it, Malfoy? Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Don't forget that you're still talking to a prefect," Malfoy drawled back. "I'll take ten points from you as well."

"My foot!" Sirius spat.

"Twenty!" Malfoy snapped, his eyes flashing. Upon seeing James' fingers twitching above his pocket, he turned on him fiercely. "Don't you even think about it, Potter. I can have your wand taken away if you dare to use it."

"You can't do that!" Remus protested. Above him, Malfoy sniffed.

"Can't I now? Ten points, Lupin, for needing to read up on school rules. And your shoe is untied, Pettigrew, so that's another five."

Glancing down at his feet in alarm, Peter bent down to knot his laces while Malfoy's Housemates laughed. "In fact," Malfoy continued, pulling out a quill from his robes, "I think that I should write you all a warning for loitering in the corridors and mouthing off to your superiors. Quillox," he spoke to the taller of the two students behind him as he started to scribble on a small piece of parchment, "why don't you go find a professor to give this to? I'm sure that they'll be most interested."

Suddenly, a quiet sort of voice spoke up from behind James and his roommates. "Interested in what?" Professor Alamanzar asked, stepping into view with his hands folded behind his back. Instantly, James felt a wave of relief wash over him as Malfoy stopped writing, surprised, and pointed towards the Gryffindors.

"These four were giving me trouble. I was just about to send them to a professor for belligerence."

"Well, there is no need for that now," Alamanzar answered matter-of-factly. "I will handle it from here. You may go."

Seeming hesitant, Malfoy eyed him suspiciously for a moment until Alamanzar cleared his throat. "Can I remind you of Hogwarts Directory, Article 35, Section 8a? 'Any student who does not immediately comply to a command given by a professor, implied or direct, is subject to punishment via House point reduction or detention, however deemed appropriate and necessary.' You are dismissed to the library for—how do you say?—needing to read school rules?"

After studying Professor Alamanzar with an intensity almost reverent, Malfoy turned on his heel and stalked down the hallway with the other Slytherins following closely behind, all looking a little unnerved by the exchange. Nodding to himself silently, Alamanzar studied their receding forms as he mouthed something under his breath.

"Thank you, professor," Remus spoke up first, and Alamanzar looked down at the boys in surprise as if he had forgotten that they were even there.

"Yeah, we owe you one," Sirius added.

"I've never seen Malfoy's grin disappear so quickly!" James praised, grinning.

Smiling, Alamanzar nodded humbly. "You going to game?"

"Yeah," James answered, glancing down the hall. "We'd better hurry. I thought for sure that I wouldn't make it in time."

Staring at James contemplatively, Alamanzar tilted his head. "You are in game?"

"Yeah," James replied, grinning. "Chaser."

"Ah," Alamanzar said, rubbing his mustache. "Very good. Remember: the lion with the prey is half as wise as the jackal without." When James looked at him in confusion, he raised his finger and explained, "Him with the Quaffle does not see full picture. Only when you sit back do you understand."

"Thanks," James told him. "Did you play Quidditch?"

" _Sí_ ," he answered, miming a swing. "The one with the bat. I was not so good." Laughing, James and the others waved goodbye as they started running down the hall.

"Remember!" Alamanzar called to James one last time, tapping his forehead meaningfully.

Fifteen short minutes later, James and his roommates reached the edge of the Quidditch pitch and parted ways, James to the locker rooms and the others to the stands. The field was already teeming with students, and James had a little trouble pushing his way through the stream of passersby. Unexpectedly, someone stepped in front of him at the last moment, and he ran straight into their chest with a grunt.

"Hello, James!" a familiar voice greeted, and James backed away, adjusting his glasses.

"Dad?" James asked excitedly, and he allowed his father to hug him properly just before his mother, who was standing beside him.

"Were you planning on being late to your first game?" James' father laughed, giving his son's wild black hair a ruffle.

"Long story," James answered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Are you nervous?" his mother questioned.

"Are you kidding me? I've never been more excited in my life!" James exclaimed.

"I told you, he's from my side of the family," his father interjected, the bald spot on his head shining in the bright sun. "A Potter never flees from adventure!" Laughing, James gave him a high-five.

"Good luck, then!" James' mother interjected. "We wouldn't want to keep you waiting. We'll be cheering you on from the stands."

"Meet me after the game!" James told them, and he waved goodbye before running off towards the locker rooms again. When he slipped inside, he ducked underneath a harsh gaze from Morgan as he grabbed his protective armor.

"You're late," the Quidditch Captain reprimanded while the rest of the team looked on from the rough semicircle they were standing in.

"Sorry, I had things to do," James quipped unwisely, but Morgan seemed more concerned with addressing the team than lecturing him.

"Listen up," she commanded, and everyone looked at her expectantly. "We've prepared for this game, and we have the talent to beat Ravenclaw. Just remember to keep your eyes on the Bludgers. Their Beaters have remarkable aim."

"No problem!" Raul piped up, raising his club.

"We'll give it right back to them!" Michael added.

Although she nodded, Morgan did not offer an encouraging smile as the Beaters led the way out onto the field. When James and Joseph started to follow them, Morgan stopped them by catching their sleeves.

"I'm counting on you two," she told them, sending one more rebuking glare at James. "It's your first game, but you two show incredible promise. You've especially improved over the last few weeks, Joseph, and I want you at your best today. And James, I don't want you to hold anything back."

"I wasn't planning on it," James answered with a grin, and he grabbed his Airwake before running after the others.

His heart thudding excitedly, he jumped into the sunlit field, and the crowd roared to welcome both teams as they stepped out of hiding. After a few moments, Instructor Zunderfield walked onto the pitch as well, his wavy brown hair swishing in the wind halfway down his back. Greeted by the excited murmuring from the spectators, Zunderfield approached the chest in the center of the pitch containing the four Quidditch balls.

"Captains, shake hands," he announced loudly, and Morgan stepped in front of James to approach the Ravenclaw Captain and Seeker, Tori Hansfeld. After grasping hands briefly, they let go and stood back with their teams. At a signal from Zunderfield, the players rose into the air on their broomsticks, James rising into position beside Frank and King as he stared down the Ravenclaw Chaser ahead of him.

Raising his hands for silence, Instructor Zunderfield waited for the pitch to grow a deadly quiet before speaking. "The first match of the season: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!"

Cheering wildly, the crowd watched as Zunderfield bent down and unlatched the locked chest in front of him. Immediately, the two black Bludgers zoomed above the players' heads, followed closely by the Golden Snitch, the tiny, winged ball meant for the teams' Seekers. A second later, Instructor Zunderfield tossed the bright red Quaffle into the air, and James dove for it with his arm outstretched. Unfortunately, one of the Ravenclaw Chasers grabbed it before any of the Gryffindors could reach it, and the player threw it towards his teammate below. Completing a backwards loop in midair, James joined Frank and King in the chase as he heard the student commentator, Ravenclaw Eric Thompson, start to narrate the action.

"Bridge with the Quaffle after the first pass from Kirk. The Gryffindors give chase, but Ravenclaw has the head st—HOLY—"

The rest of Thompson's expletive was cut short by Professor McGonagall, who grabbed the microphone away from him and only handed it back after a few sharp words with him.

"Sorry, Professor, but that Airwake is FAST!"

Triumphantly holding the Quaffle above his head, James sped under Jeanette Bridge, whose throw he had intercepted by pulling up into her line of sight at the last second. Both Frank and King circled around and followed him to the other side of the stadium where the Ravenclaw Keeper hovered in front of the three goalposts.

"Hunley darts back and forth in front of the hoops . . . Potter throws—no, he fakes it! Longbottom with the Quaffle, and he throws it into the third hoop! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

An enthusiastic roar signaled the crowd's approval, and James flew back towards the center of the pitch, brushing his hair out of his eyes with one hand. He thought that he could hear his name being called from somewhere down below, but the Quaffle was back in Kirk's possession before he could search for the voice's owner. Swooping after the ball, James, Frank, and King were blocked by the other two Chasers, Bridge and Pao, who flew in front of them and slowed down just enough to hamper their progress.

"Looks like the Chasers are bringing back the old Downwind Detour," Thompson commented over the microphone. "King tries to pass them, but he's sent back by a Bludger from Lindon. Kirk approaching the goalposts, and there he goes!" An expectant cry arose from the spectators, but it soon hushed disappointedly. "Stopped by Bender . . . all right, the Quaffle's coming back into the game."

Using the spare moment to glance around the pitch, James spotted Morgan and Hansfeld circling the field slowly, searching for the elusive Snitch. Above him and to the right, Michael dove after the Bludger that had attacked King with a frustrated expression; evidently, the ball had slipped past him and Raul despite their attempts to keep it and its twin occupied on the opposite side of the field.

Hunching over his broom while Pao retrieved the Quaffle, James sped back into the action and cornered the opposing Chaser with Frank, who swooped in from the other side. Seeing his predicament, Pao tossed the ball towards Bridge, but King snatched the ball before it could reach her. Turning around, the three Gryffindor Chasers approached Hunley at the goalposts, and the Keeper blocked King's throw with the end of his broomstick. However, he was unprepared for Frank's ascent when he shot upwards and knocked the Quaffle to James, who hit it with the palm of his hand into the left hoop. Another cheer rose from the crowd, and James noticed that the Ravenclaw section of the stands had lapsed into a stunned silence.

"Wow . . . nothing's getting past the Gryffindor Chasers today," Thompson spoke from the commentator's box. There was another roar from the spectators. "And . . . that's ten more points for Gryffindor."

As the minutes ticked by, Gryffindor scored nine more goals, leaving the score one hundred and twenty to zero. Although the Ravenclaw Chasers displayed a commendable amount of teamwork, their older broomsticks could not outrun James' Airwake, which spun around them with uncanny ease. Not halfway through the match did the students below start to chant "POTTER! POTTER!" in triumphant voices. Spurred on by their team's incredible success, Michael and Raul beat back the Bludgers with renewed fervor, keeping them from interfering with their teammates.

"One hundred and thirty to zero." Continuing to narrate over the yelling crowd, Thompson sighed with apparent boredom. "Ravenclaw calls a time out."

Lowering himself to the ground, James dismounted his Airwake and waved at the jubilant crowd while the rest of his team rested and the Ravenclaws gathered together. Hansfeld appeared especially agitated, and he gesticulated wildly at his team until Instructor Zunderfield finally approached him and caused both teams to ascend back into position. Facing each other with grim looks of determination, Bridge, Kirk, and Pao seemed to exchange an understanding before turning back towards the other team's Chasers.

"Let's get them," Frank told James and King as they rose to playing height, and James snatched the Quaffle from the air before the Ravenclaws could complete their first throw. Tucking it underneath his arm, he once again raced towards Hunley with his teammates and leaned back for the toss.

However, as he let the Quaffle go, several things happened at once: first of all, James felt a thudding pain on the side of his arm, which caused him to release the ball too early as he cried out and dropped a few meters to the earth; secondly, he heard a slamming noise from behind him, and two more people called out in surprise; finally, a collective gasp from the stands announced the students' astonishment at the commotion on the field, and James distinctly heard Professor McGonagall's shout of horror caught in the microphone before Eric Thompson's exclamation drowned out all other voices.

"Oh, it looks like Lindon and Marcell shot both of the Bludgers at the Gryffindor Chasers at once! Potter didn't see them coming, and his throwing arm got hit! I wonder if he's all right?"

Clutching his arm, James felt himself losing altitude, and he decided that everything was most certainly not all right. Frank had flown closer to him after disentangling himself from King, having collided with him to avoid the other Bludger, but his words came out as indistinct mumbling. Finally, shaking off his shock, James caught the end of Frank's final sentence.

". . . have to land!"

"I'm . . . fine!" James grunted through gritted teeth, but Frank and King ignored him as they supported him on the way to the ground. Sliding off of his broom, James steadied himself despite his dizziness and waited as the rest of his team landed. Rushing towards him, Madam Pomfrey and Instructor Zunderfield came to a stop as the former held out James' arm; wincing, James fought back a hiss of pain.

"Just broken, I think," Madam Pomfrey announced to everyone gathered around, waving them away as she pulled out her wand. "This will only take a minute."

"I'm so sorry, James!" Michael apologized, clearly horrified. Behind him, the Ravenclaws had landed, appearing concerned as well. "They shot both Bludgers at me at the same time, and I couldn't deflect two at once! I had to move out of the way!" James opened his mouth to tell Michael that it was all right, but he let out another grunt in reaction to the coal-hot yellow tendrils wrapping around his arm, snaking out from Madam Pomfrey's wand.

"Hold still, Potter!" Madam Pomfrey admonished him, and Zunderfield held up his hands to the crowd behind her.

"NO FOUL!" he told the spectators, and a few dissenters booed angrily.

"Come on, let's get back in the game," Morgan told everyone but James after having made sure that he was all right, and she directed the rest of the team onto their brooms.

"Can I go?" James asked Madam Pomfrey as the Ravenclaws aligned back into position.

"Hold on just a few moments more," she insisted, eyes narrowed in concentration.

"They can't play without me!" James argued. "Why don't they pause the game?"

"This is Quidditch," Madam Pomfrey answered unsympathetically. "It doesn't stop for minor injuries. It'll only take a few more moments."

Staring up at the sky impatiently, James tried to keep still as best he could for the healing spell. He winced again when his arm began to burn where his bones were reconnecting, but he kept his eyes on the match. One man down, Frank and King nevertheless seem spurred on by their loss and circled the Ravenclaw Chasers with fervor. Although Frank started out with the Quaffle, Bridge intercepted it early on, and the two teams engaged in a fierce back-and-forth struggle. The Ravenclaws seemed determined to take advantage of the favorable circumstances, but although they flew with a renewed speed and vigor, Joseph kept light on his broomstick and managed to block two shots from entering the goalposts. However, Frank and King were having trouble keeping up with the action, and James knew it was only a matter of time before Ravenclaw scored.

"Can you hurry up?" he asked Madam Pomfrey, who gave him a sharp glance and looked like she might break his arm again.

"Just wait one more moment!" she snapped. "Honestly, you should be taking this opportunity to rest!"

Glancing back at the field, James caught sight of Morgan zipping around frantically only a short distance from where he stood, apparently also having sensed the turning tide. Much farther from James, Hansfeld was staring in his direction, almost motionless on his broom. Suddenly, the Seeker's eyes lit up as James watched, and Hansfeld gave a quick glance in Morgan's direction; a moment later, he turned around completely and sped towards the other end of the field, and James' heart jumped into his throat.

"Morgan!" he heard Raul cry out, but Morgan had already spotted the Seeker's flight and had rushed to match his pace. As she closed in on him, James searched the pitch frantically for the Golden Snitch, but no sign of the minuscule winged ball caught his eyes.

Watching as the Seekers flew past a giant banner of Gryffindor's coat of arms, he observed the golden lion flap wildly from the speed of their passage, and he suddenly remembered Professor Alamanzar's advice to him earlier that day: _The lion with the prey is half as wise as the jackal without_. Frowning, James glanced back over his shoulder at where Hansfeld had been hovering just a few moments before. He had been facing James, not the other end of the field. How could he have he seen the Snitch from where he was facing? It was impossible—unless it was a ploy.

Suddenly, a flash of light glinted into James' glasses, blinding him. Turning, he spotted the object of his discomfort buzzing near the bottom of the stands and gasped; just a few meters away, the Golden Snitch was darting back and forth between the heads of the lowest students, who did not notice its presence as they kept their eyes trained on the two Seekers.

Turning back in the other direction, James shouted, "Morgan! It's over here! He's leading you the other wa—" An excited murmur grew from the spectators and drowned out his words, and James quickly realized that his efforts were pointless.

"Hold still!" Madam Pomfrey demanded as James' fidgeting threw her off from her work.

"Sorry, you'll have to wait," James told her, wrenching his arm free and mounting his broom.

As he shot into the air, he ignored Madam Pomfrey's final yell of warning and sped after the two Seekers while the crowd cheered even louder. Ducking low and gripping his Airwake tightly, James felt a minor stab of pain in his right arm but ignored it as he flashed past the other Chasers.

"James!" Frank yelled in surprise, but his voice fell limply as James streaked past him in pursuit of Morgan. Although the two Seekers were built for speed, James' small frame and superior broom soon gained ground, and he cupped one hand over his mouth to shout at Morgan's long ponytail whipping in the wind.

"Morgan! Turn around!" Surprised and annoyed, Morgan chanced a small glance over her shoulder. "The Snitch!" James yelled. "It's the other way!"

In the few moments that followed, James barely had time to react. Looking ahead once more, Morgan glanced towards the huge tower that Hansfeld was leading her towards and then back at James. By some small stroke of luck, whether she spotted the glinting gold light behind him or noticed the alarming speed at which she was approaching the tower, she pulled up and completed a backwards loop, zipping past James in the other direction. Apparently having planned to pull up at the last moment, Hansfeld looked over his shoulder in surprise to see Morgan zooming back towards the other side of the pitch, now in the lead. Alarmed, he spun around, but Morgan was already far ahead by the time he had reached his top speed. From his position high in the air, James watched as Hansfeld struggled to capture Morgan while the Gryffindor Seeker shot towards the now-fleeing Snitch. After a few seconds of agonizing suspense, she closed her fist around the tiny ball and slowed to a halt, her hand suspended victoriously over her head for the cheering crowd.

"And Gryffindor wins 280 to zero," Thompson spoke, stunned, from the commentator's box. Behind him, Professor McGonagall looked absolutely ecstatic as the spectators roared. "Wow . . . they completely decimated us. Oh well, good game," he said fairly after a sigh, switching off the microphone before turning back to converse with the others in the box.

"GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR!" the crowd chanted from the stands, cheering James and his team on as they landed. The Ravenclaw players all seemed stunned, and Hansfeld looked particularly disappointed as he half-heartedly shook Morgan's hand under Instructor Zunderfield's watch.

"James!" Sirius yelled as James neared the stands, and he, Remus, and Peter were the first to rush down onto the field. "That was incredible!"

"Great job, James!" Peter agreed excitedly, hopping up and down.

"You were spectacular!" Remus added, unable to hide his grin.

"Thanks!" James answered.

"I think that we have a chance of winning the Cup if you destroy the other teams like that!" Sirius exclaimed, but he was soon cut off by several excited Gryffindors clambering down from the stands. Upon reaching James, the students blocked his escape as they crowded in eagerly, patting his shoulders in congratulations. In the activity, James lost sight of his roommates, but he decided to answer his fans' questions before finally breaking free after a few minutes to approach his parents, who had pushed their way through the crowd.

"Great job, James!" his father exclaimed after reaching his son, clapping him on the shoulder.

"You were amazing!" his mother praised, bending down to hug him; James did not return the gesture, instead stepping back and running his hand through his wind-tossed hair. Seeming to sense his hesitance due to the watching students, his mother immediately straightened and smiled apologetically. Then, as if remembering something, she bent down again and held his arm. "Are you all right?"

"What do you mean—ow!" James gasped, jerking his right arm back when her fingers grazed the spot where the Bludger had hit him.

"I thought that the matron had patched you up," his father said, concerned.

"I'm fine, really," James dismissed, but his father shook his head.

"It sounds like it hurts pretty badly," he argued, and he waved over the heads of the milling students to catch Madam Pomfrey's attention, occasionally standing on his toes to be better seen because of his shrunken stature. Eventually, Madam Pomfrey, who had been searching the field for a glimpse of her runaway charge, spotted James' father and approached quickly.

"You could have gotten yourself hurt again!" she reprimanded James vehemently before turning to his parents. "Thank you for finding me—I've been looking all over for him! If we don't finish setting his arm, it could break again, and I'm not always around to remedy things." As she spoke, several yellow tendrils broke out from her wand-tip and latched onto James' arm, and he sighed impatiently while he waited for her to finish.

"Do you think that you could stick around for a while longer?" James asked his parents. "I want you to meet my roommates. They were just here, but they got lost in the crowd."

"We'd be delighted!" his father replied, and his mother nodded in agreement.

"Just make sure that your arm is completely healed first," she said, and Madam Pomfrey let out an appreciative harrumph from the side. After a few long moments, the matron finally released her spell and tapped her wand warningly on James' arm.

"Now remember: don't go running off like that again," she demanded. "Healing is a precise art, and letting things go unfinished can make things even worse."  
"All right," James answered, and he waited for her to walk away before turning to his parents. "Come on!" he urged, pulling them towards the stands. "I need to introduce you to Sirius and the others!"

Only after a few steps towards his destination, James was interrupted yet again, although this time by Frank. "Oi, James, are you coming?" Frank asked. "We're having a party in Gryffindor Tower!"

"In a minute, Frank," James answered, a little frustrated, but he motioned behind him nonetheless. "These are my parents. I'm showing them around."

"Oh," Frank said before smiling and extending his hand. James' father took it, and they shook before Frank did the same with James' mother. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I'm Frank Longbottom."

"A pleasure, I'm sure," James' mother replied with a beam, apparently impressed with Frank's polite introduction.

"Excellent flying out there today," James' father told Frank. "It looks like you and James make a good team!"

"Yeah, Gryffindor's in great shape this year!" Frank agreed happily. "Thanks for coming to watch! I'll see you later, okay, James?"

Nodding, James waved goodbye as Frank jogged off towards the locker rooms. Turning around, he started leading the way towards the stands again, straining to spot his roommates through the crowd. However, just when he was about to fight his way through the seemingly endless stream of students, a tall, sour-faced man blocked his way and crossed his arms impatiently.

"Are you quite ready?" he asked, and James stared up at him in confusion for a moment until he realized that the man was looking over his head. Turning, he looked at his father just before the balding wizard replied.

"Sorry, Marcell. James was just going to introduce us to his mates."

"Well, can you hurry it up?" Marcell snapped. "I've got a meeting after noon, and I haven't got the time to stand around all day."

"Can you wait for a few more moments, please?" James' father asked, and Marcell turned around with a huff and stalked off. "Sorry about that," James' father continued, addressing his son. "We shared a Portkey with Marcell on the way over, since he came to watch his son. I don't think that he's too pleased with Ravenclaw's loss," he added, glancing over his shoulder at the disgruntled wizard. Turning back, he inquired, "Do you know where your mates are? Have they already left for the party?"

"I don't know," James answered, suddenly concerned, and he glanced around the pitch for his roommates without any success. "If we go after them, we might be able to catch up before—"

"Dear," his mother interrupted, patting her husband's arm. Together, all three of the Potters looked back at where Marcell stood glaring in their direction, arms crossed and foot tapping.

Turning back towards James, his father shook his head. "I'm sorry, James—maybe next time. We can't keep him waiting."

"But—"

"We'll see you soon, all right?" his mother told him, giving his shoulder a loving pat before James could move away.

Watching his parents walk away glumly, James sighed and walked back towards the locker rooms, hoping to join Frank before he could leave. Judging by the enthusiasm of his Housemates, the coming party in Gryffindor Tower would surely last until after nightfall.


	9. The Slug Club's New Recruit

**The Slug Club's New Recruit**

On the third Monday of November, James sat in the castle dungeons while Professor Slughorn paced around the room, giving an enthusiastic lecture about Hair-Raising Potions while the listening students attempted to create their own.

"Although not what many wizards would call useful, don't be fooled! A properly made Hair-Raising Potion can leave your mop standing on end for weeks if you're not careful with your dosages! Also, be sure to use ginger root in moderation. Believe me when I say that it can give rather undesirable effects: I once had a student who used four pinches instead of two, and his poor rat turned bright orange for months! All right, keep it nice and thick, everyone!"

Dropping a fairy wing into his cauldron, James picked up a copper spoon and stirred the concoction clockwise twice before sitting back and looking around. To his left, Peter stood over his cauldron with a concerned expression, trying to monitor easily the class's most complicated assignment yet. Although usually not one to fret about anything, Sirius finally pushed his potion back with disgust and collapsed onto his chair after trying and failing to make its consistency any thicker than water. In the front of the classroom, Elizabeth had unknowingly mixed up two of her ingredients earlier in the period and now appeared at a loss for why her potion did not resemble Lily's, which, as always, looked like an example straight out of the textbook.

After watching his Housemates' frustration, James was surprised when he glanced over at the other side of the room and observed a vastly different mood emanating from the Slytherins. Snape's eyes had glazed over during Slughorn's speech, and he stared blankly ahead at the back wall. Behind him, Mulciber kept nodding his head and jerking it upright in a slow rhythm, and several other students were leaning back so that their heads hung over the back of their chairs. No one was touching their cauldrons, and James considered with anxiety the possibility that they had all finished their potions minutes ago without him noticing.

"That's it!" Professor Slughorn told the class, apparently unaware that half of his class was motionless. "Keep up the good work! Now, who can tell me how much of the potion you should take in one sitting? No one?"

"Three teaspoons, sir," Lily answered from the front.

"Indeed, well done!" Slughorn praised. "Ten points to Gryffindor! Now, when does its effects usually wear off?" he followed, taking a few steps down the length of the classroom and looking at Alice, who sat up suddenly at his approach.

"Isn't it two hours?" she guessed.

"Quite right! Very impressive! Another ten points to Gryffindor!" Facing the Slytherins on the other side of the room, Slughorn boomed, "Now, now, some of you had better start speaking up, or I'll be seeing the end of my own House's chance for the Cup!" Chuckling, he ignored their inattentiveness and took another step forward to where Peter sat. "My boy, can you tell me how many dosages are advisable in a day?"

"James!" Sirius suddenly hissed from the neighboring table, calling James' attention away from Peter as he started to stammer. Turning a quizzical look at his friend, he watched as Sirius nodded warningly at the next desk just behind Peter's. Following his gaze, James saw something that he had never thought possible: Remus lying with his head in his arms, fast asleep while a professor was talking.

Shocked, James shared a look with Sirius before silently urging him to wake up their friend. Leaning forward, Sirius whispered, "Remus!" Remus gave no response, and James stared at their roommate with alarm as his head slowly began to slide forward—straight for the flame still burning under his cauldron.

Sirius had noticed too, and he now hissed with more urgency. "Remus! Remus, wake up!" As his head continued to slip, Remus fell under Professor Slughorn's shadow as the wizard stepped forward, slightly disappointed by Peter's inability to answer his question.

"Anyone else? Up to how many dosages should you take in a day?"

Just when Professor Slughorn began to look down at Remus' prostrate form, Sirius reached forward and yanked him up by the collar of his robes. Jerking awake, Remus threw his hand into the air and shot off, "No more than three since any more will cause excessive growth and other side effects such as itching and frizz."

As if just becoming aware of his surroundings, Remus lowered his hand hesitantly and blinked several times, frowning. Clapping his back, Slughorn almost pushed his head into the fire under his cauldron again.

"Well done! I couldn't have said it any better myself! Another ten points!"

Several of the Slytherins had awakened from their stupor at Remus' loud exclamation, and they now eyed Slughorn curiously as he approached Sirius and asked, "Now tell me, why doesn't the potion have as powerful of an effect on goblins or house-elves?"

"Well, because they don't have hair, of course," Sirius replied, putting his arms behind his head. A few of the Slytherins gave derisive laughs at this, and Professor Slughorn's beam immediately dissipated.

"Er, not exactly," he said, disappointed, and James felt a pang of anxiety as he turned and faced him. "What about you? Can you tell me?"

"Uh . . ." James scratched the back of his neck sheepishly until Snape piped up from the front.

"He wouldn't know, Professor: he's too busy daydreaming about Quidditch," he sneered, drawing more chuckles from his Housemates. "It's because humans are more susceptible to magical change than other, already magic-oriented beings."

"That's the short end of it, but yes!" Professor Slughorn boomed, walking back down the line of desks to where Snape sat. "Take ten points for Slytherin!"

Making an annoyed noise in the back of his throat, Sirius scooped a spoonful of his potion and flung it at the back of Snape's head when Slughorn's back was turned. Raising his hand to his hair with a sharp hiss, Snape glared back at him before turning to his potion again. When his hand left the back of his head, the whole class started laughing at the sight of his greasy hair, which now stuck up in several sharp spikes.

"All right," Professor Slughorn began again, turning to face the class. He paused for a moment while the giggling died down, a look of confusion on his face. Apparently deciding to ignore the laughter, he continued, "Place your finished potions on the desk and take your leave." As everyone stood and hurried to pack up their supplies, he added, "And don't forget to clean up your mess!"

Looking down sadly at the splattered liquid on his table, evidence of flinging his potion at Snape, Sirius sighed heavily. Standing up to help him, James grabbed a rag and helped mop up the spill as the other students left the room. However, when Remus passed, he reached out and pulled him aside.

"What's the matter with you?" James asked, almost too concerned to smile at his friend's mid-class nap.

"What do you mean?" Remus responded, still a little groggy.

"Why did you fall asleep?" James clarified. "I know that Slughorn's boring, but even I know that you'd never drop off while he was talking."

"I'm just tired, that's all," Remus answered sheepishly, looking at the floor. "It won't happen again."

As he hurried off, James wondered if he had offended him. Turning to Sirius, he asked, "What do you think is wrong with him?"

Showing a great deal less worry, Sirius simply shrugged. "I don't know. It seems like everyone's falling asleep nowadays. Did you see the Slytherins?"

Nodding, James frowned. Now that he thought about it, the Slytherins had seemed more tired than bored of Slughorn's lesson. In fact, if Snape hadn't been so interested in Potions, James was sure that he would have fallen asleep as well.

When he and Sirius had finished wiping down the table with their rags, they each brought a vial of their potions to Professor Slughorn's desk. Running quickly to reach the table before them, Snape jumped forward and slammed his bottle down on the desktop before they could reach it themselves.

"Nice look, Snivellus," James told him with a grin, pushing his hand through the spot where his own hair stuck up in the back to make it look even more unruly. Curling his lip, Snape whipped around and made his way towards the door. When he reached the exit, he almost ran into a student entering the classroom, and he had to perform a leaping sidestep to get out of the way. Surprised, James recognized Regulus just as Sirius spoke.

"What are you doing here?" he asked his brother, sounding none too pleased. Curious, Snape lingered by the door to listen in on the conversation.

Giving his brother a quick up-and-down look, Regulus answered, "I'm not here for you. He wanted to see me," he said, nodding towards Professor Slughorn.

Turning around from where he had been rummaging behind his desk, Slughorn beamed and waddled out to put his arm around Regulus. "There you are, my boy! I assume that you finally took me up on my offer, then? What do you have for me?" Reaching into his pocket, Regulus silently produced a bottle of olive-colored liquid. "Perfect! Just what I asked for: a sample of your last Coughing Potion! You have no idea what this means to me. I've just been preparing to send off a batch of student-made potions to a Ministry official inquiring about my teaching abilities. If this goes through, I should have yet another batch of—er, business partners to work with. Have you met Severus here? You two might be seeing a lot of each other in the future!"

As Regulus and Snape nodded at one another, James stepped aside to avoid being trampled on by Professor Slughorn as he pulled Regulus forward. Standing next to James with his fists clenched, Sirius looked like he had just swallowed a mouthful of live centipedes.

"Just head down to my office tomorrow evening," Slughorn was telling the two Slytherins. "I've been meaning to show you my library, and I want to make sure that you have the first two editions of a new book I'm giving out. It was written by Gloria Habit—a good friend of mine, you know—and she sent me far too many copies to keep to myself. It's called _Into the Flames_ : it's an intro to dragon-rearing, something that she's quite talented at, and I thought that the two of you young boys would find it fascinating. Do tell your friend Lily as well, won't you, Severus? There's a good lad. Now go run along before your other professors complain to me for keeping you too long."

Laughing at his own joke, Slughorn turned away and looked surprised to see James and Sirius still standing behind him. "Oh. Good day."

Disgruntled, James eyed Snape as he smirked at him and exited the room behind Regulus. Now positively seething, Sirius followed with James at his heels and caught up with the two as soon as they entered the hallway.

"What was that?" he spat at Regulus, flinging his arm back towards the classroom door. "You're one of his favorites now, is that it?"

Turning back to face him, Regulus gave an unwelcoming expression rather reminiscent of Snape. "I wasn't under the impression that you cared what I did. You've certainly made sure to avoid me during the last few months."

"He's a sycophant! Can't you see that?" Sirius exclaimed, completely disregarding Regulus' jab. "He's using you for his own advantage!"

"Well, I'm sorry that he saw nothing in you," Regulus answered with a tone of finality, turning away again, but Sirius pulled out his wand threateningly.

"If you're implying that I—" he growled, but Regulus cut him off.

"Oh, I think you know what I mean," he said over his shoulder. "You're not daft, I'll give you that much."

Raising his wand arm, Sirius struggled internally as he watched Regulus' receding back. After a moment, he muttered a colorful expletive and pocketed his wand while Snape, who looked vastly entertained, turned away to follow his Housemate down the hall. Shaking with unsuppressed anger, Sirius set off at a much slower pace with his hands deep in his pockets, muttering things that James could not quite understand. Deciding that silent support was the best idea at the moment, James kept his mouth shut until they reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and settled down at their desks with the rest of the second-year Gryffindors. There he turned to Peter, the only listening ear within hearing range.

"It's his brother," James whispered, answering Peter's unspoken question after the pudgy boy watched Sirius slouch down in his chair. "He's in the Slug Club."

"Oh," Peter said, eyeing Sirius worriedly. "Do you think that he's okay?"

"I don't know," James replied. "They almost got into a fight, and—"

"Turn to chapter thirteen," Professor Alamanzar interrupted from the front of the room, and James lowered his voice as he continued.

"Regulus really pushed Sirius' buttons, and Snape was watching the whole thing," he informed Peter. "I think that we should leave him alone for a while."

"Do you think that—" Peter started, but Professor Alamanzar's voice drowned him out as he began his discourse on werewolves.

"Werewolves are highly dangerous creatures, incapable of reasoning. Although they look like a human on the outside, a terrible beast is released every full moon." As he spoke, he guided a piece of chalk with his wand, and it quickly sketched the figure of a man.

The class oohed as the drawing morphed into a vicious-looking canine, and Peter leaned closer to James. "Do you think that Snape will tell the rest of the school about it?"

Sitting back, James grimaced to himself. "Oh. I hadn't thought about that." If word got around the school about the exchange, the Slytherins would have a new source of arsenal against Sirius; they would become almost unbearable if they kept bringing up Regulus and the Slug Club with every other sentence.

"In 1637, your Ministry decreed the Werewolf Code of Conduct, which they hoped would keep the threat under control," Alamanzar continued. "This effort was useless, because none of the werewolves signed in. My country had more success with the Lycanthropy Inquisition, where we hunted the animals and drove them out. Unfortunately, our actions were not entirely hidden from the non-magical population, and they started to hunt witches and wizards in much the same way. It took us centuries to stamp out our influence. After many failed laws, your Ministry made the Werewolf Registry in 1947, and many other wizarding communities have followed their example. The Registry is the most effective method of tracking lycanthropy so far, and the list is open to the public in case someone suspects a neighbor of a misdemeanor."

Lily raised her hand, and Professor Alamanzar nodded at her. "What do you mean by 'misdemeanor?'"

"As the Code of Conduct tried to enforce, werewolves must lock themselves away every full moon to protect unafflicted wizards," Alamanzar answered. "Unfortunately, most do not, which is why their kind has not died out over the years."

"I heard that they form packs to hunt humans for fun," Alice spoke up, shuddering.

"That's right!" Hillary agreed. "There's a pack that lives in the Forbidden Forest, and they come out on the full moon to search for lost students."

"The Headmaster wouldn't allow werewolves to live that close to the castle," Lily disagreed, crossing her arms.

"It's true!" Alice protested. "I've heard them howling at night!"

Looking skeptical, Lily frowned. "Are you positive?"

"Oh, come off it! You don't know everything!" Sirius suddenly announced, placing his feet up on his desk. "I believe them!"

"But we'd have no way of keeping them contained!" Lily said. "If you think about it logically, Dumbledore would never—"

"If you haven't noticed, Dumbledore's decisions aren't always the definition of logical," Sirius interrupted, and the other students giggled as Lily scowled at him. Seeming happier, he continued, "Why keep Peeves? Why plant the Whomping Willow? Why hire Professor Slughorn?"

At this, James joined in as another bout of laughter erupted from the students, and Professor Alamanzar had a little trouble calming the class before continuing with the lesson. When the period finally ended, James joined Sirius, Remus, and Peter out in the hallway, noticing with pleasure Sirius' self-satisfied smile. James opened his mouth to comment on the class, but Lucius Malfoy suddenly rounded the corner with Narcissa on his arm, their disagreement from the beginning of the year apparently behind them. Attempting to ignore them, James and the others walked by without making eye contact, and they had nearly passed them when Malfoy spoke.

"I heard about your brother," Malfoy said, addressing Sirius with a smirk on his face. "Hard when you're second-best, isn't it?" Afraid that Sirius would snap, James reached for his wand, but Sirius moved faster.

"Ah, stuff it, Malfoy," he said happily, drawing his wand and sending a flood of water at Malfoy's and Narcissa's feet as he passed.

"SIRIUS CYNOSURA BLACK, YOU COME BACK HERE!" Narcissa screamed, but the four Gryffindors continued walking down the hall, leaving her and Malfoy to slide unsteadily on the wet floor when they tried to follow and retaliate. Remus, who had stayed distant all throughout the last class after waking up in Potions, finally seemed to come to and gave James a questioning look as if asking about Sirius. Laughing at the angry exclamations behind them, James only shook his head as they continued down the hallway.


	10. Christmas at Potter Cottage

**Christmas at Potter Cottage**

Half a month later, James and Sirius began to pack for their stay at Godric's Hollow, and James urged the others to visit Potter Cottage over Christmas break as well. At first, Peter had agreed eagerly, promising that his mother would let him go, but the next letter he received during breakfast in the Great Hall brought discouraging news.

"She won't let me go until I improve in Transfiguration," Peter told James mournfully. "I'm going to be studying all break long."

"I'm sorry, James," Remus told James as well, looking sincere. "My parents won't let me get away. They've been counting on me coming home for Christmas all year. Maybe next time," he added, although his tone did not offer much certainty.

"Maybe it's for the best," James joked, shrugging nonchalantly at his roommates' guilty expressions. "My parents can barely handle me, and Sirius might just make them lose their minds." At this, Sirius grinned, and Remus and Peter looked less downcast as they continued eating.

When the day finally came for them to journey home, the four joined the crowd of students boarding the Hogwarts Express and spent the lengthy ride in a compartment near the back. As he climbed onto the train, James thought that he spotted Regulus' dark head a few doorways down, and he turned to ask Sirius if his brother was returning to home by himself; however, before he could raise his question, Sirius had abruptly turned around to make a joke about the packed hallway and pulled open a door to an empty compartment.

After several hours of talking, James and the others jumped off of the train at King's Cross Station and parted ways to locate their respective families. Pulling Sirius over to where his parents stood expectantly, James waved as he approached and deposited Hardwin's cage onto the ground unceremoniously, causing the owl to hoot in annoyance.

"Hi, Mum, Dad," James greeted before turning to Sirius. "This is Sirius. Remus and Peter couldn't make it."

"Hello," Sirius said, dragging his suitcase to rest by his side.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you!" James' father told him, shaking his hand politely. "James has told us so much about you."

"Have you eaten dinner yet?" James' mother inquired of the boys.

"We had a few snacks on the way," James answered, though his stomach growled as he spoke.

"Well, I hope that you still have room for more, because we have a steaming meal waiting for you at home!" she announced as they turned and made their way off of the platform. "I made sure to cook twice as much as I usually do for the whole family; I know how much growing boys can eat."

Throwing James a glance from behind her back, Sirius grinned at him before they crossed through the metal wall separating Platform Nine and Three-Quarters from the Muggle station. During the trip to Godric's Hollow, James' parents chatted amiably with their son about the school year, effortlessly drawing Sirius into the conversation as if they had known him all their lives. Despite her previous doubts about Sirius' family, his mother addressed the boy as if her earlier conversation with James had never happened.

When at last the four reached Godric's Hollow, Sirius eyed James' yard appreciatively as they walked to the front door and entered the house. Once inside, the journeyers removed their coats as Winthrop appeared right on cue from a side door.

"Hey, Winthrop!" James greeted excitedly, rubbing his thick, white hair before he could move aside.

"Master should keep his hands to himself," Winthrop muttered gruffly, moving away with his accoster's coat to accept one from James' mother.

"This is Sirius Black, James' friend," James' father told the house-elf, giving him his coat as well. Bowing to Sirius as best he could with the fabric stacked over his head, Winthrop stumbled slightly as Sirius tossed his jacket on top of the pile.

"So where's dinner?" Sirius asked, turning to James. Behind him, Winthrop eyed him reservedly before waddling off, balancing his load with difficulty. To the side, James' mother made a soft noise in the back of her throat, eyes narrowed, but her husband quickly ushered the boys away.

"Right this way!" he answered, leading the way to the dining room. On the table lay a scrumptious turkey dinner complete with trays of fried potatoes and buttered rolls. As the enticing smells wafted over them, James and Sirius brightened.

"My, my, if you and Winthrop haven't prepared a feast!" James' father praised his wife, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before settling himself down at the head of the table; in a flash the boys were seated on the edges of their chairs. "Go ahead and dig in, there's no need to wait!"

Attacking their food as if afraid that it would disappear, James and Sirius made no conversation until their plates had filled and emptied twice. While the adults finished their meal at a moderate pace, the boys began to pass Chocolate Frog cards under the table, making trades and admiring each other's collections. After chatting happily with each other for a few minutes, they excused themselves from the table and stored their cards collections in their pockets.

"Thanks for the meal, Mr. and Mrs. Potter," Sirius told James' parents as he stood from his chair and Winthrop entered to clear the table.

"You're quite welcome," his mother answered, smiling weakly, and James and Sirius quickly ran to the door of the dining room. Skidding around the corner, James led the way up the stairs and to his room, where they found both of their suitcases waiting for them. Freeing Hardwin from his cage, James led the Screech owl to the window and let him fly out into the darkening sky.

"This is it," James said, plopping down onto his bed and swinging his legs. "You can share my bed until we can move the extra one from the guest room."

"Nice," Sirius commented, looking around. Crossing to the open window, he stuck his head out into the wind and grinned down at the street. "Can we keep this open?" he asked, pulling his head back inside and turning to James.

"Sure, I normally keep it open so that Hardwin can fly in and out," James answered, and Sirius gave a contented sigh before joining James on his bed.

"Do you ever throw Stink Pellets at the Muggles when they walk by?" Sirius asked suddenly as if the thought had just struck him.

"No, but my mum once got me in trouble for trying to dump a bucket of leftover Exploding Bonbons outside my window," James replied, laughing. "A few of them hit the ground, and the blasts scared a Muggle's dog right out of its collar! I haven't seen them pass this way again."

After laughing, Sirius lowered his voice. "You know, I discovered that if you place wizard chess pieces out in your yard, they eventually try to make their way back."

"Really?" James asked, reaching for his desk. Opening a drawer to reveal a chess set, he crossed to the window and dropped the black queen and two knights. Both he and Sirius gazed down at the bushes where they had disappeared.

"Come back soon!" James called down, waving.

Walking on the opposite side of the street, a confused Muggle girl started and looked up at them in surprise. After waving at her in turn, they pulled themselves back inside of the room and built a small fortress out of James' comforter and mattress, under which they finally fell asleep nearly four hours later. When he found the two of them throwing empty candy wrappers at each other in the morning, James' father decided that it would be best to move the extra bed into the room later that day, which would, as he put it, "Prevent any catastrophes or accidental deaths."

During the first few days of break, James' father, who had taken an instant liking to Sirius, often took the boys on outings to town to give the house some much-needed quiet. They spent a great deal of time in the charm-protected area just outside of town where James liked to practice his Quidditch maneuvers. Once, they also visited the Muggle-free section of the local sweet shop, Oldeman's Candy Store, and James' mother sent them back the next day with a list of supplies for Christmas Day after seeing their arms laden with Peppermint Toad packages.

After visiting the shop for the second time, James ran into the living room with several bags full of Ginger Newts and Pumpkin Pasties, greeting his mother where she was busy decorating the Christmas tree with Fairy Baubles.

"We got everything!" he announced as Sirius stumbled in behind him with another set of shopping bags. "Where do we put these?"

"Oh, I'll take them," his mother answered, placing another transparent sphere on one of the tree's boughs rather hastily, causing the glowing fairy inside to slip and fall. "If you two want to finish with the tree, I'll have dinner on in half an hour."

Taking their bags, she left them with the small piles of decorations scattered about the floor. Bending down, James picked up a handful of tinsel and started placing the strands on the tree as Sirius lifted up a small, furry ball.

"What's this?" he asked.

"That's a Puffskein," James answered. "We always hang it on the wreath by the front door. Be careful, it bite—"

Dropping the Puffskein with a yell, Sirius shook his injured hand as the creature scuttled under the tree and began to climb it. Alarmed, several fairies began to flutter agitatedly in their baubles as the Puffskein knocked into their cages. Lunging forward, James tried to grab the Puffskein, but it made a series of animated squeaking noises and climbed even faster, evading his grasp. Far above the boys' heads, it clutched the thin upper trunk warily as the tree began to sway. Trying to steady it, Sirius spread his arms out just as a fairy near the top blasted a jet of light at the Puffskein, breaking its glass cage and sending the Puffskein flying into the air with a yelp. On its way down, it grabbed a string of tinsel with its furry paws and pulled the tree down with a crash.

Several other baubles broke on the impact, and the freed fairies shot into the air and zipped around the room. Avoiding Sirius' lunge, the Puffskein ran out through the closest door and vanished around the corner. Just as he and James were about to follow, James' mother appeared from the opposite doorway with her gray hair askew.

"What's going on?" she asked, taking in the mess. Turning around, Sirius drew back as she approached.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Potter," he apologized rapidly. "I didn't mean to, honest! The Puffskein bit me, and—"

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" she interrupted, grasping James' arms and looking him up and down. When she turned to do the same to Sirius, he flinched away; surprised, James' mother stepped back. "What's the matter?"

Cautiously, Sirius glanced from her to James and back again. "Aren't you . . . I mean, aren't you going to yell?"

After a short pause, James' mother slowly shook her head. "Of course not," she replied gently. "I'm not angry."

"But it's my fault," Sirius pointed out after a slight pause.

"It's no trouble at all!" she insisted. Turning to the felled tree, she righted it with her wand; beckoning to the fairies, she guided them back into their baubles and mended the glass before placing them back on the tree. "See?" she asked. "No harm done."

Still standing stiffly, Sirius stared at her warily as if expecting her to lunge at him. Slowly extending her hand, James' mother asked, "Now, did you say that you were hurt?" Taking his hand, she turned the palm upwards to reveal a small bite mark. "This won't take long at all," she soothed, closing up the torn flesh with her wand. "Feel better?"

"Yeah," Sirius answered, staring down at his hand. Frowning, James' mother eyed him with a newfound sympathy.

"How about coming into the kitchen and helping with dinner?" she finally asked. "I'll let you choose our dessert."

The mention of food seemed to jerk Sirius out of his daze, and he eagerly led the way into the kitchen. As James followed, his mother peeked around the corner and quickly shot a Stunning Spell at the Puffskein, which bounced away from the rug corner that it had been gnawing.

After that, James' mother treated Sirius with much more respect, and she laughed along with the rest of the family at his dinnertime rendition of "Hark! Sirius Black is King." Both she and James' father wished the boys a good night on Christmas Eve before leaving them alone in James' room, and the boys spent the next few hours whispering to each other in sleepless agitation. However, when he jerked awake from a heavy slumber at six in the morning, James did not feel weary in the slightest as he jumped out of bed and shook Sirius awake.

"Come on! It's Christmas!" he announced, and for once, Sirius did not complain about the early hour. Bolting out of bed, he pounded down the stairs with James and ran into the living room, where the Fairy Baubles illuminated the presents below the Christmas tree in the pre-dawn darkness.

Sitting down, James ripped open the nearest package and found an unhealthy stash of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Next, he uncovered a game called Snitch Snatcher, a talking alarm clock, and a brand-new pair of scarlet-hemmed robes. Turning to Sirius, he watched as his friend unwrapped a set of long, metallic collar stays.

"From my parents," Sirius explained, tossing them aside as he rolled his eyes. "Do they think that I want to choke myself? At least this was better," he said, pointing to a lone Chocolate Frog package from Regulus.

"You have more," James indicated, nodding under the tree.

"Really?" Sirius asked, perking up, and he pulled out a small package with his name on it.

"That one's from me," James told him, watching excitedly as Sirius tore it open.

"Thanks, Frog Spawn Soap!" Sirius exclaimed, grinning. "I'll have to sneak this into Peter's drawer." Reaching back under the tree, he pulled out a larger package and gave it to James. "This is from me."

"What is it?" James asked as he opened it.

"A Broomstick Servicing Kit," Sirius replied. "Now you can fix your Airwake when the Bludger misses your arm the next time."

"Hey, thanks!" James said, opening the box and pulling out the large pair of clippers meant for the tail end. "This is great!" The pattering of footsteps suddenly sounded from the hallway, and James looked up to see his parents entering the room in their nightclothes.

"You just couldn't wait, could you?" his father asked, smiling. "I wanted to see you open your presents!"

"Sorry," James apologized sheepishly, but his mother uncovered a pair of identical packages from behind her back.

"I knew that we couldn't trust you, so I decided to save these upstairs," she said, giving one each to James and Sirius. Accepting the gifts gratefully, they both ripped open the paper to reveal two rather plain-looking handheld mirrors.

"They're two-way mirrors," James' mother explained excitedly. "They're bewitched so that you can talk to each other at any time, no matter how far away you are. I took one look at them and knew that they were perfect for you two."

"Excellent!" James said, holding his mirror up. Reflected in the glassy surface, the bottom half of Sirius' face grinned at him.

"Blimey!" Sirius commented, leaning over to look at himself through James' mirror. "I have nice teeth!" The others all laughed, and Sirius glanced up at their happy faces, beaming.

"How about you try this on?" James' mother told her son, picking up his new robes. "I want to make sure that you haven't grown again during the holidays." As James started to slip the robes over his head, she turned to Sirius and said, "You, too. Your pair should be under the tree."

"You got some for me?" Sirius asked, surprised.

"Of course I did," she answered, "but I wasn't sure about your size . . ." Trailing off, she watched as Sirius ripped open a bundled package and jumped up to put on his robes.

"Yes! Gryffindor's coat of arms!" he exclaimed, indicating the small insignia on his chest pocket. Buttoning the last hole, he extended his arms and twirled around. "They're perfect!" he told James' mother, and she smiled proudly.

At half past seven, the Potters and Sirius gathered around the kitchen table and dug into a warm Christmas cake provided by Winthrop, who actually smiled a little when James gave him an Acid Pop as a present, reportedly for "his nonexistent teeth and sour personality." Eventually, James and Sirius headed upstairs, their arms burdened with gifts, and they began a game of Snitch Snatcher in James' room. After two hours of fiddling with the miniature Quidditch pitch, however, they finally decided to call it quits.

"There's no way that you can catch the Snitch on this tiny board!" Sirius complained, throwing his hands into the air. "It's impossible!"

"Hey, look!" James exclaimed, pointing at the door. Bending down onto his knees, he watched as his black chess queen limped across the floor, leaving a trail of slug slime on the wood. Shortly after the queen entered, one of the missing knights trudged in after her, sheathing his sword wearily. Although James waited expectantly, the second knight did not appear; thinking to inquire of the chess piece's fate, he attempted to pick up the first knight only to receive an irritated kick in the finger from his tiny horse. Rubbing his hand, James turned to see Sirius standing by the open window, reading a letter that a speckled owl had just brought in. From his cage, Hardwin gave a muffled hoot at the larger bird on the windowsill.

"Look at this!" Sirius suddenly shouted, rushing to James and waving the letter in his face. "It's from Andromeda! She just eloped with a Muggle-born!"

"Really?" James asked, surprised; he knew that her pureblood family would not approve.

"Apparently she's been secretly seeing him for about a year," Sirius told him, quickly scanning the letter again. "His name is Ted Tonks. Andromeda knew that her family wouldn't take to him if they found out about their secret meetings, so the two of them just decided to up and run away! Isn't it wonderful?" Falling back on James' bed, he crowed with laughter. "Her family's going to have a fit!"

He continued laughing as Hardwin finally pushed open his cage and lunged at the other owl, sending it darting out of the window. Chest ruffling proudly, Hardwin flapped to the end of James' bed, holding something in his mouth. When James managed to pry the object away, he found with a grunt of amusement that it was his other knight, battle-scarred and missing his sword.

While he put the knight away with his chess set, Sirius laughed again and took his Chocolate Frog out of his pocket. As soon as he tore away the wrapping, a small explosion blasted from the opening, and he dropped the packet with a yell as Hardwin screeched and took off through the window in fright. Leaping up, Sirius stomped on the flaming package and wiped the soot off of his blackened face.

"Why, that little prat!" he exclaimed, kicking the Chocolate Frog tin aside to reveal a smoldering cylinder inside. "Regulus replaced the Chocolate Frog with a Flaring Firecracker! I know that I gave him a Dungbomb last Christmas, but at least I left the wrapper on this year!" Scowling, he kicked at the smoking package again. "I'm going to get him when we get back to Hogwarts. Are you in?"

"Sure thing," James agreed readily, although he imagined that Sirius felt far more strongly than he did about Regulus' prank. "No one blasts my best mate and gets away with it!" James added with a small smirk at Sirius' singed hair.

"Have your Invisibility Cloak ready as soon as we get back," Sirius told him, picking up the remains of the Flaring Firecracker with a sly smile. "I think that I have an idea."


	11. The Bat-Bogey Hex

**The Bat-Bogey Hex**

When the day came for the return to Hogwarts, James' parents escorted James and Sirius to King's Cross Station via the underground railway system running through Godric's Hollow. Both of his parents kept up a friendly conversation on the way, but James could sense their growing melancholy at having to let him and Sirius go. After finally reaching Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, they held the boys back for a moment to say a proper farewell.

"We'll see you soon, dear," James' mother told her son before turning to Sirius. "Be sure to tell me if you left anything behind or need more supplies, all right? I'll be more than happy to run down to Diagon Alley for you."

"I'm all set," Sirius told her, regarding her curiously while James' father patted his shoulder.

"Make sure that you keep James on his toes, all right?" he said. "He needs to be prepared for his next Quidditch match!"

"Yes, sir!" Sirius agreed, grinning, and he and James both turned towards the Hogwarts Express.

"We'll see you both at the next game!" James' mother reminded them as they headed off through the crowd of returning students. Giving one last wave, James turned around again just in time to see Sirius sigh.

"I was just starting to get used to them," he commented reminiscently before glancing at James with a smirk. "I think they like me more than you."

"That's just because they've never waited for you to get out of the shower," James retorted, pushing him aside playfully.

On the journey to Hogwarts, Sirius began to brighten with the anticipation of his revenge on Regulus, which he had relayed to James before they left Potter Cottage. The plan involved sneaking a stash of Flaring Firecrackers underneath Regulus' chair during one of his classes, which would be possible with the use of James' Invisibility Cloak. As simple as the prank sounded, there was one major flaw: neither James nor Sirius had any idea what Regulus' schedule looked like. Therefore, to rid of the issue, James tracked down Mary MacDonald on the Hogwarts Express and asked if she could get him the first-year schedule for the Slytherins. At first, she seemed reluctant, already acquainted with James' mischievous reputation, but she had finally agreed when he offered her a ride on his Airwake in return.

After arriving at Hogwarts, James and Sirius ascended Gryffindor Tower to find Peter standing just outside the Fat Lady's portrait, unable to enter. "Jelly Slug," Sirius said, and the painting swung aside to reveal the common room. "Honestly, Peter," he sighed, climbing in, "have you lost the notice about the password change already?"

"Not exactly," Peter answered, frowning despite his pleasure at seeing his roommates. "I put it on the seat next to me on the train, but it flew out of the window when we started moving."

"Next time try sitting _on_ it," Sirius suggested. "That should keep it steady." James laughed as they climbed up to the boys' dormitories and entered their room to unpack.

"I hope I'll do better in Transfiguration now," Peter commented, opening his drawers and placing a pile of fresh shirts inside. When he turned back to his suitcase, Sirius slipped his Frog Spawn Soap inside the top drawer with a grin before Peter faced them again. "My mum made me study so much over break, I thought that my eyes would pop out."

"They still might," James piped up, unable to help himself. Peter stared at him in confusion for a moment, and James winked at Sirius when he eventually turned away again to empty his suitcase. Just then, the door to their dormitory opened, and Remus walked in with his suitcase in tow. Glancing up, the others immediately noticed several small bandages on his chin and nose.

"What happened to you?" James asked, leaning over to get a better look at his roommate.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked as he crossed the room.

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean?'" Sirius demanded, also turning to stare. "Your face is almost falling off!"

"Oh, it's nothing," Remus brushed off, but James crossed his arms.

"Is it the Slytherins again?" he questioned. "If they're picking on you, I'll—"

"No, it's not like that at all," Remus interrupted, flushing with embarrassment. "It happened over the holidays."

"What happened?" Peter asked.

"Er, it was an accident," Remus explained. "I was just being careless. You see, there are a lot of thorny bushes near my house, and I tripped."

After a short pause, James cleared his throat. "You fell face-first into a thorny bush?"

"I tripped," Remus repeated awkwardly.

"Over what?" Sirius asked.

"Er . . . a rock."

"Big rock," Sirius commented, raising an eyebrow. Reddening again, Remus laughed weakly.

"Yeah, it was really clumsy of me," he said, "but I'll be fine. Look, I forgot to get something downstairs. I'll be right back, okay?"

Rushing out of the door, he ran down the stairs and left the others standing in silence, staring at each other disbelievingly.

"Do you really think that he fell?" Peter finally asked. "He's not very clumsy."

"It's more likely he was pushed in," Sirius said, staring at the door. "I don't think that he'd put up much of a fight." After staring at the door contemplatively, the three turned away and continued unpacking before settling down for the night.

When James awoke the next morning, he made sure to stuff his Invisibility Cloak into his pocket before heading down to breakfast with his roommates. Halfway through the meal, Mary approached him and handed him a slip of paper.

"I had to hand-copy it from Higgins' schedule," she told him. "I couldn't see the last part, but I got as much as I could."

"Thanks!" James told her, scanning the note hastily; looking up a few moments later, he blinked in surprise when he spotted Mary still standing beside him with a hopeful look. "Catch me later, okay?" James asked, and she quickly flounced away with a skip in her step.

Watching her progress, Remus turned to James with a suspicious glint in his eyes. "What was that about?"

"Oh, nothing," James answered, sharing the piece of paper with Sirius. "Just a small exchange, that's all."

"For what?" Remus prodded slowly.

"For the first-year Slytherins' schedule," James replied.

Narrowing his eyes, Remus opened his mouth to say something, but he soon shut it again with a frown. "What do you need the first-years' schedule for?"

Neither James nor Sirius answered, and the latter pointed at the first class on the list. "Right there. He has Defense Against the Dark Arts in ten minutes."

"Better get moving, then," James suggested, standing up. As Sirius followed suit, Remus and Peter glanced back and forth between them.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked.

"What are you doing?" Remus demanded at the same time.

"Don't ask if you really don't want to know," Sirius called over his shoulder on the way out of the Great Hall. Within seconds, both Remus and Peter had caught up with him and James.

"Don't you remember that we have Transfiguration in ten minutes?" Remus asked.

"We'll get there eventually," James told him. "You and Peter can go on ahead."

"How come I get the feeling that you're going to set something on fire?" Remus sighed.

"That's remarkably accurate," Sirius told him, and his eyes widened in alarm.

"But—"

"You won't be able to stop us," James interjected, pointing ahead of them at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, "but you can be a lookout if you want."

"I'll help!" Peter offered, excited at the prospect of being included in some dare-devil scheme. Now outnumbered, Remus seemed unwilling to walk away.

"We might get caught," he whispered nervously, glancing up and down the hallway.

"That's why we brought this," James told him, pulling out his Invisibility Cloak and handing it to Sirius.

"Here, hold these," Sirius told Remus, giving him a handful of Flaring Firecrackers from his pocket. Not wanting to be seen with any incriminating evidence, Remus hid them behind his back as Sirius slipped on the Invisibility Cloak. "Watch the door for me in case I need a quick getaway," Sirius spoke from underneath the hood, taking back the arsenal and hiding it from view.

As his feet padded towards the open classroom door, James and the others hurried after him and peeked into the room surreptitiously. Avoiding conversation with the students before the lecture as was his usual habit, Professor Alamanzar had his back turned to the class as he scribbled some complex wand formulas on the blackboard. Only a few Slytherins had arrived so far, and James backed away from the door as a few more entered, staring at the three Gryffindors curiously as they passed.

Deciding to play it casual, James walked to the other end of the corridor and whistled nonchalantly to make up for Remus' obvious anxiety and Peter's barely contained excitement. After a minute or so, Regulus appeared down the hall and entered the classroom, giving James and the others a sharp look before disappearing from view. As soon as he entered, the three roommates rushed to the door and watched as Regulus sat down on the far left. Wondering where Sirius was, James glanced around the room for any sign of his friend, but the door suddenly snapped shut with a wave of Professor Alamanzar's wand. All three boys huddled closer together, standing on their tiptoes to watch through the small glass pane near the top of the door. Inside, Alamanzar began his lecture, and James could just make out his muffled words through the thin wood of the door.

"The Bat Bogey Hex is one of the more powerful Dark spells of its kind, and it is very difficult to cast. I will perform the hex today, because I do not expect any of you to master it for many years."

Everyone's eyes were on Professor Alamanzar, so no one besides the three boys standing outside of the room saw the Flaring Firecracker appear out of thin air just behind Regulus' chair. After it floated into place, another one appeared and joined its twin, and Sirius' hand briefly came into view as he tied a string around the fuses and trailed the thread back towards the classroom door. As the string approached the exit, James opened the door silently and allowed Sirius to slip through the crack as the class listened to Professor Alamanzar.

"It's ready," Sirius whispered to the others, ripping off the Invisibility Cloak. " _Incendio!_ " he spoke again, and a small spark jumped from his wand-tip and ignited the thin thread on the floor. All four boys watched in anticipation as the flame traveled down the string and under the door towards Regulus' chair.

"My demonstration requires a volunteer," Professor Alamanzar spoke from inside the classroom, grasping his hands behind his back and clearing his throat. Alarmed, the Slytherins glanced around at the others, each one not wanting to be the first to speak.

"You, join me here," Alamanzar finally announced, gesturing invitingly at Regulus. Surprised, Regulus looked over both shoulders before getting up grudgingly, an unpleasant expression on his face. Both James and Sirius looked at each other in alarm before turning back to watch the small flame work its way down to the empty chair. In front of the class, Professor Alamanzar positioned Regulus a few paces away from him and took out his wand.

"You must stay back between your opponent when casting the spell, because it is contagious at close range and may bounce back with protective measures such as Shield Charm. Do not worry," Professor Alamanzar broke off suddenly, addressing Regulus. "You do not have to do anything."

As the professor prepared his wand, Regulus looked like he just might pull out his own anyway. Watching intently, James saw Alamanzar raise his wand just as the flame reached the Flaring Firecrackers underneath Regulus' desk.

At the exact moment when Professor Alamanzar recited the incantation, a series of explosions drowned out his words, and the whole class ducked instinctively as the Flaring Firecrackers flew into the air and spun in wild circles around the room. One of them hit Alamanzar's hex, and the two collided in a tremendous blast, sending the students in the front row diving out of their chairs. As the smoke cleared, James saw that the students had all bent double, holding their noses as streams of live bats erupted from their nostrils. Even Regulus and Professor Alamanzar were clutching their faces, and the whole room broke into pandemonium as people screamed and ran about blindly.

Bending over as well, James and Sirius burst out laughing as everyone in the classroom scurried back and forth in an attempt to distance themselves from the flying terrors above. Next to James, Remus looked even more frightened than before, but Peter gave a cry of delight and clapped his hands.

"Look at them!" James cried, wiping a tear from his eyes. "They don't even know what happened!"

However, before any of the others could respond, a throat cleared unexpectedly from behind them; startled, all four boys turned to see Professor McGonagall standing only a few paces away, arms crossed menacingly. At the sight of her fierce gaze, James' smile evaporated as suddenly as it had come.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded. None of the boys responded, and she glared at them furiously. "Imagine me, already detained from making it to my own class on time by a situation caused by Peeves on the first floor, running into yet another ill-devised prank made by four students too preoccupied to attend class! You two I have come to expect these sorts of shenanigans from," she snapped, pointing at James and Sirius before turning on the others, "but I am astounded that the rest of you joined in with this nonsense instead of putting a stop to it!"

Ashamed, Remus and Peter hung their heads and tried to make themselves look as small as possible while McGonagall glared down at the small party. "I am unequivocally ashamed in all of you," she continued harshly. "You will continue straight to class, after which you all will receive a detention that I will decide on after dealing with your ineptitude. Is that clear?"

Sirius seemed about to say something in their defense, but he thought better of it and turned away with the others, who had begun to trudge to Transfiguration in a dead silence. As Professor McGonagall entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom to help calm the situation, James glanced cautiously at the others, a slightly nauseated feeling in his stomach. Next to him, Peter had begun to tremble in anticipation of McGonagall's wrath, and Remus wore a mixed expression of self-disgust and despair.

All four entered the Transfiguration classroom in silence, and the waiting students looked up in surprise, having expected Professor McGonagall. "Is Professor McGonagall coming?" Hillary asked, but she quieted solemnly when the newcomers refused to glance her way. As James slumped into his chair, he felt the other students staring at him, and the rest of the class began to whisper quietly for the next several minutes.

When Professor McGonagall finally returned, she strode purposefully into the room and commanded attention by slamming her notes a little too forcefully on her desk. Throughout the lecture on Conjuring Spells, she completely ignored James and his roommates, and none of them spoke up in the class discussion. After the period had finally drawn to a close, McGonagall approached the four boys without a glance at the other students, who peered at them curiously on their way out of the door.

"Hagrid has a task for you tomorrow night. Argus will bring you to his hut at six o' clock in the evening. In the meantime, I don't want to hear a single complaint from another professor about your lax attendance. If I do, you will be cleaning out the dungeons for a month in addition with your current punishment."

Turning around, she stalked away and left with the other Gryffindors, leaving the room in an uncomfortable silence as the door shut behind her. As soon as she had disappeared, Remus leaned forward and buried his head in his hands.

"Come on, it isn't that bad," James told him, finally feeling free to speak again. "It's only Hagrid."

Shaking his head, Remus said, "No, she's right. I shouldn't have gone with you." An awkward silence took over, and Sirius shared an uncomfortable glance with James. After a few moments, Remus finally stood, gathered his belongings, and left the room without another word.

James slowly followed suit, and Peter decided to take his leave after glancing between him and Sirius. Not in the mood to talk, James quickly passed into an adjacent corridor when Peter tried to catch him on the way out. Once alone, he sighed and kicked at the stone floor as he trudged forward.

Unfortunately, his solitude did not last for long. "Feeling down, Potty?" a voice called out, and Peeves the Poltergeist swooped into view, hanging upside-down as he clutched his toes.

"Go away, Peeves," James threatened, passing him without a look in his direction. Cackling, Peeves bobbed up and down after him.

"I heard you got in _trouble_ ," he continued. "How come?"

"Go bother somebody else," James responded impatiently.

"If you insist," Peeves replied, bouncing off. Surprised, James turned around to watch the poltergeist bob towards a passing first-year and grab her braid from behind.

"DID YOU HEAR?" he yelled into her ear, causing her to scream and drop her books. "JAMES POTTER AND HIS FRIENDS GOT DETENTION FOR SNEAKING A PREGNANT WAMPUS INTO THE SCHOOL! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

Turning back to James, Peeves smirked and floated off down the corridor, his bell-topped hat jingling as he went. Astounded, the small student seemed unsure of whether to collect her fallen items or obey Peeves' warning. In the end, she pointed her finger at James and opened her mouth to scream.

"Oh, stuff it," James told her, pulling out his wand and shooting a spell at her. Turning around, he continued walking down the corridor as she frantically tried to pry her sealed mouth open.


	12. The Vanishing Boot

**The Vanishing Boot**

By the next morning, the school had acquired eight different versions of why James and his roommates had gotten detention. On the way to his first lesson, James caught a group of first-years whispering about an army of jinxed dresser-cabinets making their home in Gryffindor Tower, and the students merely eyed him with borderline antipathy when he ordered them off. Afterwards, in conclusion to an even more painfully quiet History of Magic period than usual, Wilkes and Mulciber happened to pass by James and his friends on the way to the Great Hall for lunch.

"Is it true that you stole the answers to a Transfiguration exam?" Wilkes called out loudly, causing several other students in the hall to pause and listen. "It's a miracle that McGonagall didn't expel you!"

"At the very least, I think that Filch should have taken you down to the dungeons for a little roughing up," Mulciber added, grinning maliciously as Remus and Peter flushed and James and Sirius bristled. "My father has always said that Hogwarts is a little soft; in his day, they used to pin students to the walls if they didn't learn their lesson."

"For your information, we didn't steal anything," James retorted as the other people in the hall looked on in interest. "Unless we stole your intelligence, of course; it's certainly missing, but I don't know what we'd need it for."

Continuing down the corridor, James left the confused Slytherins behind with the laughing crowd. He was positive that Wilkes and his cronies knew why they had really gotten detention, seeing as the incident involved their own House, but they obviously enjoyed leading on the other less informed students. Chancing a glance at his roommates, James spotted Sirius smile wryly over his shoulder and give a huff. The extra attention seemed to bother him the least, most likely because Regulus and his fellow first-year Slytherins were still in the hospital wing recovering from the Bat Bogey Hex. On the other hand, Remus and Peter were still suffering from guilt; even though Peter had looked up at James admiringly after his last remark, he soon returned to staring at the floor in sullen sorrow.

"Come on, let's forget about those prats, all right?" James told Remus and Peter as they entered the Great Hall and made their way towards the Gryffindor table. "Who cares what they say? Everyone knows that they're really the ones who need extra help in Transfiguration."

Although cheerful for a moment, James quickly lost his confident smile as his two friends lowered their heads upon entering the Great Hall, abashed by the judgmental gazes of hundreds of students and professors. Feeling a spark of annoyance, James frowned and stared straight ahead, spying a group of Gryffindors gathered in a tight circle by their table, no doubt eagerly exchanging gossip. As he walked nearer, the students looked at him with wide eyes before jumping back into their whispered conversation with greater urgency.

Clenching his fists, James approached the group and pushed two of its members aside, fighting his way into the middle. "All right, I've had enough! Go find someone else to talk about!"

Scowling as the other students murmured agitatedly, a rather plump girl with light, bouncy hair sniffed from her perch on the bench, wrinkling her already-upturned nose and distorting her scattered pimples. Most of those gathered were a few years older than James, including the girl on the bench, who gave him a judgmental press of her thin lips. However, James was surprised to find a few familiar faces in the crowd, including Morgan McGonagall, Adah Kahtri, and the youngest of the group, Hillary Vance.

"Well, aren't you rude?" the heavy-set girl spoke in a pinched, nasally voice. "We were only having a discussion."

"About us?" James asked angrily, gesturing at his roommates. Crossing his arms, he glared at the disgruntled girl until she turned her rounded chin up even higher.

"So what if we were?" she replied, cross. "I can't help it if you're all the school has to talk about."

"And what is it that everyone's saying?" James demanded. At first, no one seemed to want to break the silence, and Morgan sighed tiredly next to the pimply student, looking bored. After a moment, however, Hillary finally glanced over her shoulders and leaned forward.

"Well," she whispered, her eyebrows lifted as if hoping the four boys would confirm her statement, "Bertha Jorkins says that you snuck into Professor McGonagall's office last night."

Puffing out her chest, the plump girl smirked proudly. "That's right," she announced, pointing to a ringleted girl beside her. "Adelaide here heard the story from Kent Watson, who heard it from Margaret Mayne, who heard it from Sarah Berg, who heard it from her cousin, and the Patterson twins overheard a conversation between Professor Slughorn and Instructor Zunderfield, which filled in the rest of the details."

"Oh?" Remus inquired, frowning.

"Trust me: it gets worse," Morgan spoke up, sharing a glance with Adah.

Sitting up straighter, Jorkins explained, "Kent says that you found a stash of love letters in McGonagall's desk from Professor Flitwick, but she found you before you could get away. You ended up setting the whole office on fire in the struggle to obtain the letters, and McGonagall was so furious that she sentenced you to clean the kitchens for the rest of the year!"

Everyone stared at the four boys expectantly, and there was a brief moment of silence until James and Sirius broke into a fit of uproarious laughter, almost falling to the floor in their mirth. Offended, Jorkins sat back with a sour expression.

"That's the best I've heard yet!" Sirius exclaimed, gasping for breath. Beside him, Peter started giggling as well, and Remus' face had grown a violent shade of red as he tried very hard not to join in.

"It _does_ sound like something we'd do, doesn't it?" James added, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

"Well, did you or not?" Jorkins demanded.

"I almost wish we had, but no," James answered, still laughing. "Where did you hear that from?"

"From about twelve different sources, sounds like," Sirius interjected, and Remus finally let out a snort as the others erupted into a fresh burst of laughter.

"We tried to tell you, Bertha," Adah sighed, and the rest of the crowd began to shift agitatedly.

"So it's not true?" Hillary asked in surprise, and Morgan gave her a judgmental glance.

"Well, feel free to pass it along!" Sirius told Hillary, calming somewhat. "It's certainly better than saying that we cheated on an exam."

"Did you?" Hillary gasped, astounded, as Remus and Peter reddened again.

"Come on, do you really think we need to?" Sirius responded, and a few of the other students chuckled.

"So what really happened?" Jorkins pleaded, leaning forward.

"Like we'd tell you," James scoffed. "You'd just make a big mess of it!"

Scowling, she wrinkled her nose again. "Would not!"

"Don't change a thing!" Sirius told her. "I like the part about the love letters."

Frustrated, Jorkins stood up and turned away. "Come on," she commanded, and several of the other students jumped up to follow her out of the Great Hall. Of the older students, only Morgan and Adah stayed behind, and the latter turned to James.

"Sorry about Bertha. She's a real pill," she apologized, and Morgan sighed.

"I've put up with her for six years, and she still gets under my skin," she announced, and she and Adah left the second-years standing alone.

Just before Hillary could follow after the other students, James grabbed her arm and pointed towards Jorkins' receding back. "Do you know her?"

"I've seen her in the common room from time to time," Hillary replied, flipping one of her braids over her shoulder, "but I make it a point not to talk to her if I can avoid it. She doesn't strike me as very bright."

"You seemed interested enough in her story," Remus pointed out with a raised eyebrow, and her ears turned pink. Before she could open her mouth again, however, James waved her off.

"Go on, find yourself another bench. This is our spot."

Disgruntled, Hillary stalked off and left the four roommates on their own. Sitting down as one, they all looked at each other as James raised a fork into the air. "And that, gentlemen, is how you stop a rumor!"

After eyeing James for a moment, Remus smiled. "I'll give you one thing: you certainly don't let anything get to you."

"What else are you supposed to do?" Sirius asked, helping himself to a serving of fried potatoes.

Although Remus and Peter held their heads higher throughout the rest of the day, they relapsed into a state of retentive silence when Filch escorted the four boys to the Forbidden Forest in the evening. Not yet beneath the horizon, the sun washed the line of trees as the small group approached the Gamekeeper's hut near the edge of the woods. As he neared the cabin, James squinted and spotted Hagrid's giant form coming out from the door, his monstrous boarhound, Fang, slipping out after him. When Filch led the boys within hearing range, Hagrid nodded in recognition.

"I'll take 'em from 'ere, Filch," he announced. "It'll be a long night."

"I don't envy you," Filch wheezed to the boys with a sickening smile. "Good luck."

Waddling off, he left them standing in an anticipatory silence. "So, what are we doing?" James finally asked.

"Don't sound so cheerful abou' it," Hagrid told him, throwing him a look. "This is supposed ter be a punishment, remember?"

"Right," James answered, adjusting his voice to sound more solemn as Hagrid turned around to grab something by the door.

"Where are we going?" Peter asked, rubbing his arms. "It's freezing out here!"

"In there," Hagrid replied, pointing over his shoulder at the dark trees behind his cabin. Alarmed, the boys exchanged wide-eyed glances.

"What?" Sirius demanded.

"I need ter check out some complaints I've been gettin' from the centaurs about intruders wanderin' in the forest," Hagrid explained, turning back around and slinging a massive machete over his shoulder. "It shouldn't be difficult, but it migh' take all night."

"But we can't go in there!" Peter exclaimed, hurrying after Hagrid as he took several giant steps towards the forest's edge. "It's dangerous!"

"There's nothin' ter fear if I'm with yeh," Hagrid told him without stopping. "Ere, Fang," he added, snapping his fingers at his dog, which had fallen behind and had begun to whimper.

"Peter's right!" James interjected, stopping short as Hagrid entered the Forbidden Forest and turned around. "There are . . . I mean . . ." Not wanting to appear frightened, he broke off and fought back a gulp. "There are werewolves in there."

Having declared this ultimatum, James stood firmly back with the others, who had clumped together at his sides. Standing just as immovably, Hagrid stared back and waited for them to follow. After a few long, dragged-out heartbeats, Remus seemed to resign himself to his fate; he sighed, straightened his shoulders, and walked into the Forbidden Forest with determination. Content, Hagrid turned back around to lead the way, and the others gaped at their receding forms.

"Wait!" James called after them, but neither one looked back. Glancing at the others, he searched for some sort of support and received only wide-eyed stares. Moving as one, they all broke into a run and shot into the forest while Fang barked at their heels. Once they caught up to Hagrid, they gathered around Remus, who, despite his previous show of bravery, huddled closer to them as he eyed the looming trees overhead.

As the sun rapidly fell, neither the light of the moon nor the shine of the stars broke past the canopy of leaves shielding the bottom of the forest. Too busy glancing at the dark treetops to notice the forest floor, Peter tripped over a total of six roots before he learned to watch his footing. Although he could not see anything in the gloom, James kept hearing eerie noises coming from the distance, and he breathed a bit easier when Hagrid procured a lantern from within his heavy fur coat and lit it. However, the surroundings seemed somehow even more mysterious in the bobbing light, which accentuated the deep, rolling fog.

Several minutes dragged by, and still they walked onwards. As his eyes began to adjust to the blackness, James turned his head at the distant noises in the trees, and he had to fight to keep from jumping at every sound. Eventually, when he started for what seemed like the hundredth time, the noise that had caught his attention only grew louder the longer he listened to it. Opening his mouth to alert Hagrid to the thundering rhythm, he hushed as the Gamekeeper placed a protective arm in front of the boys and stopped them.

"Hold still," Hagrid commanded, and they all held their breaths as the pounding grew closer. Despite his efforts, James could not tell which way the sound was coming from, either due to the magic nature of the Forbidden Forest or the many layers of dead leaves littering the ground. Only when several large shapes broke out of the nearby trees and Peter yelped did James understand the source of the pounding.

Heads tossing, the wild-haired centaurs pawed the ground with their hooves, covered in dirt and flecks of dead grass. All of them held roughly-hewn bows, and they each had a quiver of arrows hanging over their shoulders, the shafts sticking up like fungi from a rotting tree. One of the centaurs reared as he circled the small group, and the boys all took a step back as the human-like faces stared down at them with dark eyes.

"Why have you brought them here, Hagrid?" one of the largest centaurs asked, flicking his long tail around his chestnut flank. "The young will only get in the way."

"It's all righ', Magorian," Hagrid told the centaur, and although polite, he sounded just as unpleased to see them as they looked of him. "I jus' brought 'em to help."

"We don't need help from foals," another, younger centaur growled, stamping a large, black leg.

"I can't look around the whole forest by meself," Hagrid told the black centaur, and Magorian held out a hand to stop his companion from retorting.

"Be still, Bane," he commanded before addressing Hagrid. "We will let them pass through, but we are not responsible for ensuring their safety. It is your duty to bring your young out of our territory by sunrise."

"And make sure to take the rest of them with you!" Bane called out, and a few other voices behind him murmured assent.

"I don't think tha' students have been trespassin' in the forest," Hagrid told him as he scratched the back of his neck, and his sigh made it sound as if he had already gone over the subject before. "They know better than ter wander through restricted areas."

"The tracks belong to your kind, of that I am sure," Bane argued, glaring down at James and his roommates. "We have not had the pleasure of meeting the intruders yet, but I will be more than happy to send them back with a few arrows in their spines when we do."

"Where did you find the tracks?" Hagrid asked.

"They start over by the cliff face," Magorian answered, pointing into the distant fog. "We've tracked them as far as the fork in the river."

Turning on his back legs, he signaled to the rest of the herd, and they prepared to leave. Before the pounding of hooves could drown out his words, he added over his shoulder, "If you need us, we won't be there. Be sure to make it out by morning!"

Huffing, Hagrid shook his head as the herd galloped into the night. "Righ' useful tha' was. Don't mind them—they've spent a little too much time in the woods."

Leading the way towards the spot that Magorian had indicated, Hagrid kept his lantern held high to light the small party's path of travel. Whining at his heels, Fang pressed his nose against every rock and leaf he passed, drinking in its scent. Considerably less interested in the forest floor, James and the other boys did not look down until Hagrid stopped a short distance from a rising wall of earth and stone.

"Look down there," their guide commanded, pointing at a patch of trampled grass and twigs.

"That's it?" James asked, unimpressed; he could not spot any visible footprints in the tangled foliage. "Are you sure those are footprints?"

"No, not really," Hagrid answered, staring at the spot skeptically. "It looks like a 'erd of Manticores passed through 'ere."

"I'll bet that the centaurs were just blaming us for the fun of it," Sirius scoffed. "It was probably just a couple of deer or something."

"Well, better take a look around jus' ter be sure," Hagrid announced. "Do yeh know how ter light yer wands? I didn't bring extra lanterns."

"Yeah," James answered, and Peter started.

"We're splitting up?" he squeaked, glancing around at the thick fog.

"Jus' fer a bit, now," Hagrid comforted. "We'll cover more ground tha' way. The two of yeh follow me," he said, pointing at Remus and Peter before turning to the others. "Yeh can take Fang. Don't stray too far, and meet me back here in thirty minutes. Give a shout if yeh see anythin' suspicious."

Turning around, Hagrid led Remus and Peter off into the forest while Fang nosed James' hand, leaving a wet streak on his palm. Now engulfed in darkness, James and Sirius glanced around at the echoing noises around them for a few long moments. Slowly, both of them pulled out their wands.

" _Lumos!_ " they whispered in unison, and their wand-tips began to glow with a bright, white light. Despite the small circle of illumination, the trees looked just as forlorn as they had before.

"Well, I guess we should go this way," James finally piped up, stepping in the opposite direction.

He and Sirius made their way through the mossy foliage as best they could without tripping over anything or losing Fang, who trotted reluctantly after them. Once in a while, James spotted another patch of trampled grass, and he used what little sense of direction he had in the oppressive darkness to keep moving forward. Time seemed to drag as they continued tracking the broken twigs, and sometimes they had to stop for minutes at a time to locate the next set of footprints due to the fog. To further complicate matters, the frequency of the overturned leaf patches diminished the farther they traveled from the cliffside where their group had split up, and they finally stopped to catch their breaths.

"Are you sure that we're going the right way?" Sirius asked, looking over his shoulders.

"I don't know," James answered, glancing around uncertainly. "Maybe we should go back. I think the river might be in the other direction."

"Wait, I think that Fang's found something!" Sirius interjected, and they both rushed over to the dark object that Fang was standing over and sniffing.

"Don't touch that!" James ordered, yanking Fang back from his find before he could knock it over. Moaning moodily, Fang trotted to his other side as he and Sirius got a good look at the object.

"It's a boot," Sirius said.

James nodded. It was most certainly a boot, and not a quality one at that. Mold covered the leather where the shoe lay sideways on the forest floor, and the heel hung loosely from the rest of the sole. Prodding it with his foot, James wondered just how long it had been sitting in the forest.

"What's it doing here?" Sirius asked, frowning. "Who drops their shoe in the center of centaur territory?" Bending down, he prepared to pick it up.

"Look over there!" James cried abruptly, causing his friend to stand up again. "It's another patch!" he explained, pointing at a scuffed-up area of grass. "If someone was here, we just need to follow the footprints to wherever they went!"

"Let's go!" Sirius agreed, and he followed James away from the shoe still lying on the forest floor. Bounding into a slow lope, Fang ran ahead into the darkness in his eagerness, and together the three began to race forward to another area of broken twigs and then another.

Heart thumping, James strained his eyes for the next patch of trampled leaves, and he did not spot the rock sticking up from the forest floor until it was too late. Falling with a grunt, he pushed himself up as his wand flickered and gave out, and he had just enough time to check his palms for blood before the light disappeared.

"Hey, wait a minute!" he yelled ahead to Sirius and Fang, but neither of them seemed to hear him. "Hey, come back!" he tried again, but Sirius' wand light grew smaller and smaller with each second, eventually disappearing altogether.

Alone, James stood and brushed himself off, glancing around at the dark forest. Even with his glasses on, he could not make out his hands until he held them just in front of his face. Too worried that he would attract unwanted attention if he called for help, he stood still for a few moments and thought about his next course of action. Eventually Sirius would notice his absence, but it might take several agonizing minutes that James did not want to spend alone in the gloom. Wishing for light, he remembered his fallen wand and fell to his hands and knees to search for it.

Although he could not see the ground, he used his sense of touch to examine the moist leaves and pebbles under his feet until his hand finally closed around something thin and wooden. Standing up, James brushed off his robes again and whispered, " _Lumos_."

When nothing happened, he gave his wand a shake. " _Lumos!_ " The night stayed as dark as ever, and James began to panic. He had never heard of wands not responding to their owners before, but he was sure that he had performed the spell correctly—hadn't he?

Attempting the incantation once more, making sure to execute the correct wand movement, James blinked as nothing happened. Suddenly paranoid, he looked over both his shoulders into the unrelenting blackness and wondered if something out there was keeping him from performing the spell. Instantly, he called to mind dozens of vicious monsters and hungry animals, but he shook off the thoughts with a shudder. Nothing but the shifting of his own two feet greeted his ears; as far as he could tell, he was utterly alone.

As soon as the last thought crossed his mind, he recalled the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson on boggarts. Could Professor Alamanzar be right? Was James really afraid of being alone? Glancing around, James began to wonder if it was at least the smallest bit true.

Just as he decided to start off after Sirius, he spotted a small speck of light in the forest far ahead and relaxed. By the rhythm of its bobbing movement, James guessed that it belonged to Hagrid's lantern.

"Hagrid!" he yelled, stumbling forward. "Hagrid, it's me!" When he began to near the light, it stopped short and wavered in place. "Hagrid?"

No response came his way, and he soon halted as well and stared at the distant light, suddenly wondering if it belonged to the gamekeeper after all as he thought back on an old lecture on hinkypunks. Timidly, the speck bobbed up and down as if its bearer had taken a step closer, and James backed away in response. No sooner had he put more distance between him and the lantern did the light blink out, enveloping the forest in complete darkness once again.

Confused, James wondered whether he should continue forward or not, but a sudden rustling from the side soon distracted him. Stumbling backwards, he squinted in an attempt to spot the source of the disturbance, but he ended up tripping once again over a protruding root. Freezing, he hardly dared to breathe as the rustling quieted and then started again, soon turning into the soft padding of giant footsteps against the cool dampness of the forest floor. In the space of a few rapid heartbeats, James could hear the quiet rumble of breathing and something that sounded a lot like sniffing. Whatever stood in front of him took another step forward, and James felt his muscles start to cramp as a droplet of sweat creeped down his forehead.

Suddenly, pounding feet sounded from the left, and James' heart gave a leap as he heard Hagrid's booming voice cry out and spotted his lantern swinging from side to side. As Hagrid, Remus, Peter, Sirius, and Fang all came running into view, James looked back in front of him and gave a gasp as he saw for the first time the terrifying beast standing over him. Illuminated by the light of Hagrid's lantern, the huge, canine creature drew its ears back and snarled at James, crouching for a pounce. Holding his hands over his head, James prepared to feel the searing rip of fangs into his skin, but his attacker simply leapt over him and ran into the trees. Only the creature's yellow eyes and teeth flashed in the dim light of Hagrid's lantern before it completely disappeared into the night.

"James! Are yeh all right?" Hagrid yelled, dropping to his knees and helping James to his feet.

"I didn't know where you had gone!" Sirius exclaimed. "I thought that I'd lost you when I ran into the others!"

"I'm glad that you came when you did!" James told them, brushing himself off. "It was about to tear me apart!"

"What are yeh talkin' about?" Hagrid asked, tilting his head. Breathing heavily, James looked into the faces of the others and met similar looks of puzzlement.

"There was a giant werewolf right in front of me!" James exclaimed, astounded. "Didn't you see it?"

Gasping, Peter and Sirius stared at him with wide eyes, and the former clapped his hand to his mouth. "You saw a werewolf?" Peter yelped, and James nodded fervently.

Sighing, Remus shook his head. "There aren't any werewolves in the forest."

"Yes, there are!" James disagreed, crossing his arms. "It was about to eat me alive!"

"Lily's right: Dumbledore wouldn't allow them to live outside of the castle," Remus countered, brushing him off with a hint of irritation.

"I know what I saw," James argued, glaring at him.

"Werewolves aren't like centaurs," Remus replied, throwing him a similar look. "You can't keep them next to a school full of humans and expect them to stay put. Besides, it's not even the full moon! How could you have seen a werewolf if it's not time for their transformation?"

Realizing that he did not have an answer for this, James closed his mouth and stared at the ground. Finally, he kicked at the grass and muttered, "Well, I saw _something_ , and it looked an awful lot like a werewolf." Looking up again, he spotted Hagrid and noted that the giant man had frozen stiff, his great big ruddy face screwed up as if it might burst. "What is it?" James questioned, tilting his head as he temporarily forgot his frustration.

"Er—nothin'," Hagrid replied quickly, turning an even darker shade of rust. Pointing at James' hand, he quickly switched topics. "Why are yeh holdin' tha' stick?"

Looking down, James saw that he was clutching a twig, and he dropped hurriedly. "Uh, no reason," he replied, glancing around before changing the subject himself. "So how did you find me?"

"Sirius took us back in the direction where he had last seen you," Remus answered, looking up at the canopy of treetops as if composing himself again. "But why did you get separated in the first place?"

"We found a boot, and we started following the footprints," James told him, turning to Sirius. "Did you find anything?"

Shaking his head, Sirius replied, "It came to a dead end."

"A boot?" Hagrid asked, frowning. "Where did yeh find it?"

"Over here," James beckoned. "Follow me!"

Running through the trees, he led the way as best he could remember back to where Fang had stumbled upon the abandoned boot, bending down to scoop up his fallen wand where it still lay on the forest floor along the way. After a few minutes, he recognized the nearby foliage and began to slow, turning to wave at the others before looking back at where he had last seen the shoe. Starting, he stared at the ground as he slid to a rapid halt.

The boot was nowhere to be seen.

"'Ave you found it?" Hagrid asked after catching up, and James gestured at the empty grass.

"It was right here, I swear!" he exclaimed, walking around to peer under the nearby bushes. "It couldn't have moved!"

"He's right!" Sirius added when the others blinked at James. "This is where we were! We've only been gone a few minutes!"

Exchanging glances, the others stayed quiet while James and Sirius continued searching. Soon enough, they admitted defeat and stood up.

"I can't find it," James muttered, "but it was here."

"Well, I can't say tha' we've 'ad much luck, either," Hagrid told him. "We've spotted nothin' but rocks an' twigs fer the last half hour. At least fer now, I think it's a better idea if we stick together," he said, casting a worried glance at the empty grass around James' feet.

His head lowered, James trudged after Hagrid and the others without a word, and Sirius gave him one last look before staring ahead. Although the group continued on in silence, James wrestled with his thoughts as he snuck a glance back over his shoulder again. Had he really seen all that he thought he had, or was the Forbidden Forest playing tricks on his mind? At least he could rest assured that Sirius had seen the boot, but James could not help but doubt the existence of the werewolf. At this point, he could not even be sure that he had seen the distant lantern. The only thing that kept him from completely abandoning the memories of his nighttime experiences was his stubbornness, which dared to hold on to the hope that he was still sane after all. Sighing, he put his hands into his pockets and contented to say nothing more about the boot or the werewolf for the moment, and he followed after the others whilst making care to watch his footing.


	13. The Trip out of Hogwarts

**The Trip out of Hogwarts**

January, February, and half of March passed by rather uneventfully, if one did not count the stacks of homework that the professors continued to hand out. In Charms, James learned how to enlarge objects, freeze objects, sever bonds, and even erase memories, which the students practiced on a cage of pixies. Defense Against the Dark Arts detailed the Banishing Charm, the Tongue-Tying Curse, and the Full Body-Bind Curse, while Professor McGonagall showed her class how to turn mice into teacups and rabbits into pillows.

James kept up with his assignments easily enough, but his thoughts soon turned to his fast-approaching birthday. When the morning of March 27th finally arrived, he jolted awake before the sun had completely risen to find a pile of packages lying at the foot of his four-poster. None of his roommates had woken yet, and he decided not to disturb them as he opened his gifts. First, he turned to a few presents from his parents, finding a velvet bathrobe and matching socks, not to mention a new peacock feather quill and two pound cakes to share with his friends. Next came an enchanted bookmark from Remus, a box of treacle fudge from Peter, and a book called _Practical Pranks_ from Sirius.

Awakened by the rustling of wrapping paper, the other boys slowly sat up and rubbed their eyes. "Happy birthday, James," Sirius finally spoke up when James had put aside the last gift.

"Are those for us?" Peter interrupted before Sirius had finished speaking, pointing at the pound cakes. After answering in the affirmative, James gave out half a cake to each of his roommates, and they munched wordlessly for a few minutes while admiring the other gifts.

"I think that's a Self-Correcting Quill," Remus eventually spoke up, pointing at the peacock feather on the bed.

"That's right: my parents get them all the time," James responded. "So what does the bookmark do?"

"Once you put it in place, it won't come out," he answered. "It'll never fall out accidentally unless the owner tells it to let go."

"You can use it in my book," Sirius suggested, his mouth full of pound cake.

"Yeah, I can't wait to read it!" James agreed.

After they had finished the cakes, James offered a few handfuls of treacle fudge to the others, and none of them refused. They continued to eat the last few squares as they walked down from their dormitory and into the Gryffindor common room. Upon arriving, James saw that the area was already filled with a dozen or so assorted students chatting in the cushioned armchairs circling the room.

Suddenly, Peter let out a small moan and clutched a hand to his stomach. "Ugh . . . I think I ate too much cake." Glancing towards James and Sirius, who were otherwise preoccupied with _Practical Pranks_ , Remus waited for a few seconds before sighing.

"I'll take him to the washroom," he finally volunteered, guiding Peter towards the portrait hole. Just as they slipped through the exit, Frank and Dill got up from their place near the fireplace, laughing and talking as they passed near James and Sirius.

"Hey, Frank! Hi, Dill!" James greeted. "What are you two doing?"

"Oh, hello," Frank answered as he and Dill stopped. "Happy birthday, James!"

"Thanks," James replied while Dill shrugged.

"We were talking about what we're going to do in Hogsmeade this weekend," he told him.

"Hogsmeade?" James repeated.

"You know, the all-wizarding village just a few kilometers from here," Dill explained. "It has all kinds of shops: Honeydukes, Zonko's Joke Shop, Tomes and Scrolls, and Dervish and Banges. There's a trip on Saturday."

"Oh yeah, I've heard of Hogsmeade," Sirius spoke up. "I think that Professor Binns mentioned it in one of his classes, but I must have fallen asleep soon after. I didn't realize it was that close to Hogwarts."

"How come I didn't hear about the trip?" James questioned.

"This is the last one of the year," Frank told him, pointing at the notice board on the wall. "They posted the visiting dates near the start of term, and we've already been once. You probably didn't notice since it was right around our first Quidditch match."

"How do you sign up to go?" James asked, and Frank and Dill exchanged a glance.

"Only third-years and above are allowed to go," Frank finally answered.

Dill nodded. "Even then, you still need a permission slip signed by a parent or guardian. No one can get past Filch if they don't have one."

Now it was James' and Sirius' turn to share a glance. Smirking in unison, they turned back towards Frank and Dill. "So how does one get to Hogsmeade?" James asked.

"Everyone queues up in the Entrance Hall," Frank answered slowly, eyeing James as his smile widened. "But you can't be thinking of sneaking along! Filch checks the students at the door and makes sure that they have their permission slips filled out."

"Let's just say that we have a way to remain hidden," Sirius interjected. "Would we be able to do it?"

"Hypothetically," Frank answered, still frowning. "At least, there's no more inspection after that. We just walk straight to Hogsmeade."

"Perfect," James and Sirius said together. At Frank's upturned eyebrow, James raised his finger to his lips.

"Don't tell anyone, okay?" he asked.

After exchanging another look, Frank and Dill simply nodded. "All right," Dill agreed. "Remember: Saturday morning, eight o'clock."

As soon as the older students had left, Sirius turned to James. "Let's keep this to ourselves," he suggested. "I have a feeling that Remus won't like what we're doing, and it's too much of a risk if we tell Peter. It'll be a small birthday celebration from me to you. We'll make sure to bring back Peter a bag of Bertie Bott's, though—and chocolate for Remus, of course."

"Sounds fair," James responded, and they followed Frank and Dill on their way out of the portrait hole.

Within a week, the time for the Hogsmeade visit had come, and James and Sirius slipped out of their dormitory long before the others awoke. Carrying only James' Invisibility Cloak and their wands, they quickly stole through the castle and donned the Cloak just before making it to the Entrance Hall, where a growing collection of students stood waiting in front of the double doors. Unfortunately, the boys could not move around the queue to fit through the doorway, so they stepped just in front of a pair of unfortunate fifth-year girls, who could never quite figure out why the air in front of them shoved them back whenever they tried to approach the Ravenclaws ahead.

"Permission forms out and ready, please," Filch wheezed as James and Sirius padded up to him, turning his weary gaze from the Ravenclaws' slips of parchment. Pausing, he narrowed his eyes at the empty space yawning in front of the two girls, and the immediate meow from Mrs. Norris voiced the suspicion of his curling lip. Leaning forward with a finger extended, he meant to prod the empty air, but Sirius suddenly stuck out his foot and stomped on Filch's toes before dashing out into the school grounds with James.

"AUGHH!" Filch screeched, grabbing his foot and hopping around. Staring at his acrobatics, the fifth-years stood in silent confusion while Mrs. Norris snuck between the legs of her owner, seeming to stare straight at James and Sirius as they ran. After yowling once more, her investigation was promptly cut off by a sour-faced Filch as he grabbed her and plopped the mangy brown tabby on his other side.

Releasing their breaths, the two escapees turned to follow the line of students winding away from the castle on a misty morning trail, which was dampened slightly from the night's light shower. Keeping to themselves, the boys walked at a slower pace than James would have liked so as to use the meandering group of Hufflepuffs in front of them as a guide. During the journey, James continued to keep an eye out for Frank and Dill in case they turned up on the road.

Unfortunately, his search did not prove useful until after they had entered Hogsmeade, a quaint little collection of thatch-roofed inns and shops scattered along several cobbled roads, which all but sung of welcome. Not a discontent face was to be seen, either among the visiting students or who James supposed were the village's permanent residents: numerous bright-eyed witches with arms bearing the day's groceries, and an equal amount of wizards with wrinkles in all the right places around their cheeks. As they continued to walk, James spotted a few streets that branched off from the center of town, leading to what he supposed were personal abodes.

"Look at this place!" Sirius whispered, poking James in the side before pointing at a nearby shop window, which displayed a variety of antique broomstick equipment. "Dill wasn't joking when he said that this place had everything!"

"But where is he?" James responded, and the question had scarcely left his lips when the answer came ambling down the street. Glancing around as if expecting someone to leap out at them, Frank and Dill paced slowly along the left side of the street, hesitant, it seemed, to enter any of the buildings. Nudging Sirius, James began to stroll in their direction until stopping at their side.

"Hello, Frank. This is God," Sirius whispered, and Frank almost jumped out of his robes as Dill laughed.

"Sirius, you barmy little git, where are you?" Frank exclaimed after having nearly fallen backwards in an attempt to spot his tormenter.

"We're right here," James answered next to him, and both he and Dill stared open-mouthed in the direction where his voice was coming from.

"Frank, you can't see them either, right?" Dill whispered from the corner of his mouth as he paled, and James and Sirius had to fight a bout of laughter.

"We're invisible," James explained. When the boys did not look any less concerned, he added, "It's my Invisibility Cloak. We used it to sneak past Filch at the castle."

"An Invisibility Cloak?" Dill exclaimed before hushing himself so that the passing students would not overhear. "Wherever did you get one of those?"

"It's my dad's old one," James answered, and Dill nodded; it looked like the only thing keeping him from reaching out to touch the Cloak was the fact that he did not know where it was.

"Well," he finally said, his usual grin returning, "I'm glad that you made it! We were wondering if you two were going to show up."

"Though exactly _how_ , I can't say I was prepared for," Frank sniffed, his normally curly hair standing on end as he rubbed his robes down. As soon as he had finished, Dill motioned for everyone to follow.

"Come on! Frank and I will give you a tour of the place!" he invited, setting off along the dew-wet road. "Over there's The Three Broomsticks, the busiest room and board in town. Madam Rosmerta works there, and she makes the best butterbeer! It'll be a bit difficult to get into if you keep your Cloak on, but we can try Zonko's later if you'd like. It has every prank-related toy that you could dream of; I make it a point to visit whenever I'm in Hogsmeade, because my mum won't let me get half that stuff when I'm at home."

"And there's Honeydukes," Frank pointed out, indicating a colorful shop window filled with sweets, tarts, and candies. "They have the usual stuff like Chocolate Frogs and Acid Pops, but they also have some of the rarer sweets like Cockroach Clusters and Blood Popsicles. We once got Frederick to eat one on a dare, and he spat out red for the next hour."

Although tempted to stop at nearly every store, James trailed loyally after Frank and Dill as they wound through the town, giving a quick albeit thorough sweep of Hogsmeade until they reached the outer edges of the main shopping district. The paths slowly grew more and more unkempt, and James slowed to a halt when he saw nothing ahead but wild grass and a few outlying houses.

"Should we turn back, then?" he spoke up from underneath the Invisibility Cloak, thinking of Zonko's.

"Not yet," Frank replied. "I knew that you'd like this part, so I saved the best for last."

Offering no further questions, James and Sirius trotted behind their guides as their surroundings grew wilder in comparison to the neatly-furnished buildings behind them. Still, even though more rugged than the main square of Hogsmeade, the pristine countryside never appeared unsafe or even unpleasant. In fact, the rustic nature of the rolling hills looked like something out of the many picture books that James' father used to read aloud by the fireplace of Potter Cottage when James was still too young for tutors. Comforted by the sweet-smelling plants as well as by the absence of any other passersby, James and Sirius eventually pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and drank in the warmth of the sun, which had just made its appearance from behind a blanket of gray clouds to melt the dew on the ground.

"It's just up ahead now," Frank told them, turning around to face them briefly before marching up a small rise.

Following closely, James and Sirius eyed an old, wooden fence spanning the length of a wide field, cutting it off from human access. The foliage on the other side appeared much unrulier than the welcoming meadows that they had just walked through; numerous weeds were draped along the bottom of the fence, and several overgrown bushes dotted the landscape beyond. However, the most notable object on the horizon was the small, hut-like building huddled against the slight breeze. Although it resembled Hagrid's cabin in size and shape, it did not radiate the same friendliness, instead oozing an aura of eerie solitude from the boarded-up windows and doors. Even though he was too far away to see the building in detail, James thought that the paint had begun to peel away from the outside walls.

"What's that?" he asked, turning to Frank and Dill.

"That's the Shrieking Shack," Frank answered, his voice barely above a whisper as he glanced in the hut's direction. "It's supposed to be the most haunted building in Great Britain."

Staring at the shack, James did not once doubt Frank's words. Even the way that the breeze flew past the hut's broken windows created an unearthly moaning sound.

"Can we go inside?" Sirius asked from where he stood on the bottom rail of the fence.

Emitting a harsh noise in the back of his throat as if trying too hard to laugh, Frank shook his head. "Would you want to?"

"They say that a band of banshees lives in there," Dill told them. "Maybe ghouls or Red Caps, too."  
Suddenly, the sound of a breaking twig made everyone jump, but James felt the tingling of his skin subside when he came face-to-face with Bertha Jorkins, who had somehow managed to hide her presence behind a tree when they had approached the fence.

"And phantoms, too," she added matter-of-factly, her nose curled upwards slightly.

"Blimey, Jorkins!" Frank exclaimed, sounding none too pleased at his second fright of the day. "You sure can move like a ghost when you want to!"

"And let's not forget the ghosts," Jorkins went on. "But not the friendly kind. I mean like the Bloody Baron. The ones that rattle their chains and cry out for vengeance at night."

"If you're trying to scare us, it isn't working," Sirius told her, grimacing.

"I'm not trying to scare you: I'm only telling the truth," Jorkins replied. "Anyone can tell you about the howling that comes from the Shrieking Shack at night. It would chill even the bravest's blood."

"Who told you that?" James questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Was it your friend Adelaide again, or was one of the ghosts trying to scare you? Or was it even Peeves?"

Shaking his head, Frank stopped him. "It's true! Even I've heard the stories."

"I'm pretty sure that I heard screams coming from the Shrieking Shack the last time we came to Hogsmeade," Dill added.

Smirking, Jorkins nodded. "You see? I still remember how it sprang up mysteriously before the start of term last year. When I left Hogwarts, there were no plans, no mention of a new building in Hogsmeade, and then BAM—there it appeared when we returned, almost as if it had jumped up from the ground in the middle of the summer."

"It's only been here for two years?" James asked, his mouth opening. "But it's practically falling apart!"

"It's just the same as it's always been," Jorkins told him. "Always broken down, always joined by the howling."

"And you came all the way here by yourself just to look at it?" Sirius interrogated. "You were going to try and break in, weren't you?"

Flummoxed, Jorkins stammered before responding. "No! I mean, of course I wouldn't . . . Well, there's nothing wrong with having a look around! Don't you want to know what's in there?" Before James had time to admit the truth in her words, she pointed at him and Sirius. "And what are you two doing here, anyway? Aren't you in your second year? Only third-years and above are allowed to visit Hogsmeade!"

Thinking fast, James shook his head. "It's our third year." Pointing at Frank and Dill, he said, "They're our roommates. Isn't that right?"

After a brief pause, the two older boys nodded. "That's right," Dill answered.

"Definitely," Frank added.

Narrowing her eyes, Jorkins studied them for a moment before huffing and crossing her arms in a pout. "Fine. I'm going to Honeydukes. You four can stay here and scare yourselves silly." Spinning around, she marched away, her feet pounding heavily against the ground.

"Should I Obliviate her?" Dill offered as soon as she thudded out of hearing range, drawing out his wand. "I could wipe her memory and make her forget that she ever saw you."

"Nah, that's all right," James answered. "It she tells on us, she tells on us. In fact, I kind of hope she does," he said, nudging Sirius. "Let the whole school wonder how we managed to sneak along!"

"If you say so," Dill relented, shrugging and pocketing his wand again.

"If word gets out about how you scared me, I'm telling Peeves to put a dead rat in your pillow," Frank threatened Sirius, and the others laughed. "Let's go back to town," Frank invited. "You've still got to see Honeydukes and Zonko's!"

Glancing back towards the Shrieking Shack, James decided that there was no chance of convincing Frank and Dill of exploring. "All right," he at last relented, and he joined the others after draping the Invisibility Cloak back over himself and Sirius.

Once they entered the main street of Hogsmeade, the boys marched straight into Honeydukes. Frank and Dill loitered around the display stands long enough for James and Sirius to decide what they wanted, and the hidden duo surrendered a few Sickles each from underneath the Invisibility Cloak in payment. In the end, all four had collected a bundle of Cauldron Cakes and Fizzing Whizzbees, as well as a few packages of Hiccough Sweets and Confused Compasses from Zonko's. When evening fell, the troupe walked back to Hogwarts with their purchases in tow, and James and Sirius finally bid farewell to the others when they pulled off the Cloak in a deserted corridor, walking up to Gryffindor Tower by themselves.

Finally reaching their dormitory, they hid the Honeydukes sweets behind their backs as Peter jumped up from where he was bent down on the floor. Hitting his head against the bottom of his four-poster, he uttered a short exclamation and startled Hardwin from his perch on the windowsill.

"Where have you been?" Peter questioned, rubbing his head. "I couldn't find you all day!"

"We were out by the Quidditch pitch with my Airwake," James lied while Peter reached back beneath his four-poster and retrieved a quill that he had dropped.

"I checked by there, and I didn't see you," Peter said, standing back up.

"Must have been when we stopped to eat," Sirius replied, stuffing a box of Ice Mice underneath his comforter. When Peter leaned over to see what he was hiding, he quickly asked, "Is Remus in the library?"

"He's in the hospital wing," Peter replied, still eyeing Sirius' mattress, and James started.

"What for?"

"He said that he was feeling off-color," Peter answered. "Are those Ice Mice in your bed?"

Sighing, Sirius pulled out a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from behind his back and tossed it to Peter. "Don't tell anyone."

"Wasn't Remus ill last month?" James questioned as Peter stuffed a handful of the candies into his mouth.

"Now that you mention it, I think that he did go to see Madam Pomfrey," Peter agreed through a mouthful of food.

"He's probably still getting over it," Sirius guessed.

"I suppose," James said, rubbing his chin. "Do you suppose that we should bring down some chocolate to him or something?"

"Nah, it's getting late," Sirius replied. "We can wait until he comes back in the morning."

After James shrugged, he turned to Peter. "Oh, and don't tell Remus we were out this late, okay?"

"Why not?" Peter asked.

"Uh . . . I promised that I'd take him for a ride the next time I practiced."

"Oh. Can I go next time, too?" Peter inquired, perking up.

"Er, we'll see," James answered, and Peter did not ask anything more as he patted Hardwin on the head, narrowly avoiding a swift nip. Within a few minutes, the three roommates had climbed into their four-posters, and James gradually drifted off to the sounds of Hardwin's soft hooting and the whispering of the wind on the windowpane.


	14. Malfoy's Fall

**Malfoy's Fall**

After their embarrassing defeat at the hands of Gryffindor near the beginning of the school year, Ravenclaw's Quidditch team never managed to bounce back from their loss. In January, Hufflepuff slaughtered them following their own defeat from Slytherin just before Christmas break. Almost irrevocably out of the running for the Quidditch Cup, Ravenclaw's team did not worry the Gryffindors as they continued to train, especially after their heartening win against Hufflepuff in early February. The rival Chasers stood no chance against James' Airwake, and Morgan ended up catching the Snitch within minutes. Ravenclaw fell even further in the rankings when they competed against Slytherin and lost, and only Gryffindor's game against Slytherin was left, the match that would determine the winner of the Cup.

To prepare for their final game, the Gryffindor team met up in the pitch thrice every week, now back to their regular schedule after managing to nullify Professor Slughorn's note after the holidays. Although she never admitted it out loud, Morgan was clearly worried about Vanity's progress with the Slytherins, and she worked James and the other players twice as long as normal during each practice session. Every night after practice, James would crawl back into his dormitory with muscles that felt like straw, instantly falling asleep after the day's work.

The day before the match, Morgan advised the others to rest well and eat a full breakfast to prepare them for the game. Taking her advice, James clambered into his four-poster earlier than usual and woke up just when the sun began to peek through the window. Although he felt too excited to eat, he tried his best to scarf down a fair meal in the Great Hall while his roommates watched from his side.

"Did you get enough?" Sirius asked when James pushed back his unfinished plate and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"Yeah," James answered, his heart racing unnaturally fast.

"Here," Remus offered, reaching into the folds of his robes and handing him a square of chocolate. "For luck."

"Thanks," James told him, taking the chocolate and gulping it down in one bite. It gave him a strange sense of warmth when he swallowed, and he pushed back his glasses with a sudden surge of energy.

"Come on, James!" Frank called before James could ask for another square of chocolate. Glancing behind him, James spotted the third-year passing by the Gryffindor table with the rest of the team. "We're leaving!"

As if they had been waiting for a cue, the Slytherin team stood from the other side of the Great Hall and joined the Gryffindors on the way out; the members on both sides exchanged glares as they marched forward, each team refusing to back down. Matching strides, they walked shoulder by shoulder towards the double doors, and James jumped up to run after them.

"Hey, James!" Sirius interjected before he could leave, grabbing him by the sleeve. Looking down as the corner of Sirius' mouth lifted, James listened as his friend requested, "Do me a favor and kick Malfoy's butt."

"Will do," James answered, grinning. "I've been waiting all year for this!"

"Don't let me down!" Sirius said as he let go of James, allowing him to rush after his teammates. When he reached them, James fell into step beside Frank and glared up at Malfoy and Vanity. They both looked down at him with raised eyebrows, and the former rolled his eyes before glancing away again.

Neither team managed to pull ahead of the other before reaching the Quidditch pitch, and they separated to their locker rooms with an ice-cold silence still hanging between them. Already in their uniforms, the Gryffindors simply strapped their protective armor on and clutched their broom handles, listening to the murmuring crowd gathering in the stands outside.

"All right, team, this is it," Morgan finally announced, breaking the silence, and every eye turned to her. "We have one chance to make this work, and we won't make it unless we work together. Talk to each other out there, and remember what we've practiced. I know for a fact that Vanity doesn't stand a chance against us," she added with a slight snarl, and everyone raised their brooms.

"Hear, hear!" Raul exclaimed.

"Let's get this started!" Frank added, and they all turned for the exit a moment later.

Stepping into formation beside the rest of the team, James waited for Instructor Zunderfield to oversee the traditional shaking of hands while the Slytherins approached from the other side of the field. Upon both teams' entrance, the crowd erupted into cheers and catcalls, and James spotted his parents waving wildly from the visitor's tower. As Morgan and Vanity stepped towards each other, neither broke from her composed sort of forward stare, but Vanity's eyes bugged outwards when Morgan grabbed her hand, nearly crushing her fingers in a vice-like grip. Quickly jerking her hand away, she glowered at Morgan while rubbing her palm, mounting her broom with the other players.

Rising into position, James stared straight ahead at where Malfoy hovered just across from him, his face set in an unrelenting scowl. Smirking back at him, James rubbed his hand through his hair and leaned forward on his broom.

"Let the match begin!" Instructor Zunderfield cried, throwing the Quaffle into the air and unleashing the other balls.

Zipping forward, King managed to snatch the Quaffle just before Vanity could reach it, and James and Frank flew after him towards the Slytherins' goalposts. When he neared the opposing team, James dived to get nearer to King, but Malfoy appeared from the side and shoved him off balance before he could catch up. A cry of outrage rose up from the spectators, but Malfoy continued on as if he had not seen James at all, and Zunderfield did not blow his whistle. Spinning around once, James soon regained his balance and zoomed after his teammates.

Unfortunately, Vanity intercepted the Quaffle when King passed it to Frank, and she held onto it while James tried to block her path. Shooting under him, she ignored Malfoy's wave and flew straight at Joseph where he floated in front of Gryffindor's goalposts. Watching her rapid approach, the Keeper steadied himself and readied for the defense; however, Vanity did not slow as she entered the scoring zone, and when she threw the Quaffle, it hit the top of Joseph's fingers and continued on through the left hoop.

Out of the corner of his eye, James saw the score board by the commentator's box change in Slytherin's favor. Despite the first play's outcome, he was somewhat gratified to see Malfoy grind his jaw slightly as Vanity waved to the cheering audience. Flying up next to James, Frank and King waved him aside.

"We'll have to watch out for more fouls," Frank growled, shooting a look in Malfoy's direction.

"They'll do what they have to," King said. "There's no way that Malfoy's going to lose so easily in his last year."

"I'll keep an eye on him," James agreed.

"Do you see that?" King asked, pointing at where Vanity flew slightly above Malfoy and Slytherin's other Chaser, Marcus Mimbleton. "Focus on her. She's not likely to share the ball if she has a shot at the glory."

"Right," James and Frank responded, and they separated so that Frank could take the Quaffle for the new offensive.

As soon as he passed the ball to James, Vanity shot forward, and neither Malfoy nor Mimbleton had time to reach it before she had snatched it out of the air. Flying in front of her in order to slow her down, King gave his teammates enough time to close in from both sides, controlling her path of travel. Only spotting the trap once it had already been set, Vanity tried to fly higher, but James and the others followed her closely until she finally threw down the Quaffle in desperation. Catching it, James turned and sped for the Slytherin goalposts, diving down to avoid Malfoy as he flew forward to intercept him. Quickly tossing the ball to Frank to throw Mimbleton off his trail, he continued to a secure position in front of the hoops and signaled for his teammate again. When the Quaffle was thrown back at him, James smacked it with the end of his Airwake's handle and sent it soaring through the closest goalpost, much to the Slytherin Keeper's frustration.

Grinning now that the score was tied, James waved at the crowd before high-fiving Frank and floating back into position. Glancing backwards when the other team did not follow, he watched as Vanity flew up to the Slytherin Keeper and threw her hands into the air.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" she yelled, apparently not caring that the spectators could hear every word. "ARE YOU JUST GOING TO LET THE BALL IN LIKE THAT EVERY TIME?"

Observing from her spot next to the stands as Vanity continued to yell, Morgan's face lit up like she had just won the match. As Zunderfield blew his whistle in an attempt to restore order, Malfoy turned a deep shade of purple, and James and Frank shared a glance. Together, they attempted to hide their laughter behind their hands for the benefit of King, who simply stared at the proceedings.

"BACK TO THE GAME, YOU TWO!" Zunderfield finally shouted, abandoning his whistle after it became clear that it was having no effect. Above him, Vanity snatched the Keeper's broom handle and twisted it in order to display the proper way of defending the goalposts, and Zunderfield gave two short blasts on his whistle, giving Gryffindor a free shot and finally breaking apart the Slytherins. King threw the Quaffle, and the Keeper, still ill-composed, did not reach it in time before it sailed through the left hoop.

During the next few plays, James could see the effects of Vanity's outburst and Gryffindor's extra shot taking their toll on the Slytherins. Mimbleton could not seem to throw straight, either towards his teammates or Gryffindor's three hoops, and Malfoy and Vanity ended up colliding while trying to catch the Quaffle. After Vanity chastised him, Malfoy flew over to Mimbleton and conversed with him in a low voice, and they eventually seemed to reach an agreement. Grabbing the Quaffle, Mimbleton held onto it until Vanity yelled at him to pass it to her; preparing for a throw, he tossed the ball underneath her waving arm to Malfoy, who snatched it and raced towards the middle goalpost on Gryffindor's side of the field. The Quaffle sailed past Joseph's lunge, and a cheer erupted from the Slytherin side of the stands. Waving at the spectators, Malfoy sped right past Vanity as she hovered up by his side to reprimand him.

For the next half hour, Malfoy and Mimbleton continued to ignore their Captain, refusing to throw the Quaffle her way despite her frequent yelling. Unfortunately, their plan seemed to be working, and they quickly scored several more points while Gryffindor struggled to catch up. Although Vanity eventually abandoned the game altogether as she pouted on her broom, her watching Housemates paid her no heed as they cheered on the other Chasers, and the scoreboard near the commentator's box soon displayed Slytherin's advantage at 120 to 40. Motioning to Instructor Zunderfield for a time-out, Morgan gathered her team on the ground while the Slytherins stayed airborne.

"Come on, pull it together!" she told James and the other Chasers. "They Chasers aren't going to pass the Quaffle to Vanity, so there's only two of them you need to worry about! What's the problem?"

"When I tried to get close to Malfoy, he shoved me away," Frank complained, rubbing the dark bruise on his chin. "He and Mimbleton always make sure to keep the fouls hidden from Zunderfield. We can't get close to them, and they're too fast to intercept at long distances."

"Block them off together, then!" Morgan retorted. "There's two of them and three of you!"

"What do you think we've been trying to do?" Frank exclaimed, but a sudden blast from Instructor Zunderfield's whistle interrupted his words.

"We still have a minute left!" Morgan argued, turning to Zunderfield, but he was not looking at her team; instead, he gave another two screeches from his whistle to stop Yun, Slytherin's Seeker, from racing around the stands. His mouth falling open, James spotted the Golden Snitch fleeing from his outstretched hand.

"WE'RE ON A TIME-OUT!" Zunderfield shouted, but once again, his actions proved fruitless. Turning to Morgan, he raised his arms in a shrug, and she jumped onto her broomstick and sped into the air without a backwards glance. Following her, the rest of the team rose into the sky and watched as the Seekers raced down the length of the pitch, Morgan just a few broom-lengths behind.

"Why, that cheating little scumbag!" Michael exclaimed, gritting his teeth in Yun's direction.

"Can I borrow your bat for a moment?" Frank asked Michael, glaring down the pitch at the Slytherin Seeker. "I want to send a Bludger at him."

Glancing down the Seekers' path of travel, James spotted Vanity sitting on her broomstick with her back to the Seekers, apparently still unaware of their approach. A little closer to him, he saw the other Slytherin Chasers hovering with the Quaffle, having completely abandoned the game in order to watch the Seekers. Suddenly, an idea struck James, and he felt a grin creep up his face.

"The game's not over yet," he announced to the others before diving towards Malfoy where he floated in midair, holding the Quaffle. As he passed, James grabbed the ball from his relaxed grip and sped forward as Malfoy let out strangled yell.

"I'll be needing that!" James called to him over his shoulder, and both Slytherin Chasers took off after him in pursuit. Flying after James as well, Frank and King strove to catch up to him.

"James! Over here!" Frank yelled, waving his arms as the Slytherins began to gain ground. Putting on a sudden burst of speed, Frank reached out as James threw the Quaffle—not at him, but towards Vanity.

"Here!" James yelled, drawing Vanity's attention just before the ball reached her. Her eyes widening, she caught the Quaffle as it thudded into her chest, and she looked down at it for a moment before glancing up at James and smirking. Holding the Quaffle above her head, she turned her broom towards Gryffindor's goalposts only to halt abruptly as the Snitch suddenly buzzed past her ear. A second later, Yun rammed into her head-on and sent both of them careening to the earth; zipping over the two of them, Morgan closed her fist over the fleeing Snitch and held it up victoriously as the crowd burst into applause.

"Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup!" Thompson announced over the loudspeaker, and Frank dove into James from the side, tackling him in a vicious hug. The audience's cheering turned into laughter as the two fell unsteadily to the ground, and the rest of James' team ran up to offer their congratulations. Michael, Raul, and Joseph were yelling incoherently, and James saw the flash of King's white teeth as Morgan jumped up and wrapped his neck in a hug, her feet momentarily leaving the ground.

"Wait just a moment!" an angry voice cried out from behind the group, and James pulled apart from his teammates to see Malfoy marching his way, fire in his eyes. Pointing his finger at James, he spat, "You can't interfere with the Seekers!"

Although James opened his mouth to defend himself, Instructor Zunderfield appeared from behind and beat him to it. "Technically," he interjected, leafing through a hand-held notebook, "he didn't interfere with the Seekers—it was your Captain who did that. But, as I recall, chasing the Snitch or performing any such plays during a time-out is strictly prohibited, especially after encouragement from one's own team."

His mouth slightly open, Malfoy quickly paled as he gaped back at Zunderfield. Snapping his notebook closed, Zunderfield continued, "So those breaches will earn two detentions for your team: one for Yun, and one for you. Oh, and I'm sure that your Head of House can find room for one more. After all, Vanity _did_ technically interfere with the Seekers." Turning to Morgan, Zunderfield added, "I believe that this is yours."

Pulling out his wand, he conjured a golden trophy out of thin air and handed it to the team Captain as the crowd's cheering amplified. As Instructor Zunderfield walked off with a slight smile, Malfoy stood frozen as a surge of excited Gryffindors pushed him aside to make their way towards the winning team.  
"You did it, James, you did it!" James heard Sirius yell over the din of the other students, and he turned to see his parents standing just behind his friend. Rushing forward, Sirius squeezed James as hard as he could before letting go and doing the same to James' father. Instantly realizing what he had done, Sirius released his hold and backed away, but James' father roared with laughter and hugged him back just as tightly before doing the same to his family.

Soon enough, all four of them were clasping hands and laughing, and James turned to face Remus and Peter as they ran up, beaming and shouting congratulations. To the right, Frank was yelling over the noise with his roommates, and Dill reached out to grab the Quidditch Cup from Morgan as she turned to talk with Professor McGonagall, who looked as if she would explode with jubilation. Even Lily had been dragged onto the field by her roommates, and they all cheered as Dill raised the Cup to show to everyone. In that split second of seeing his Housemates gathered around him, his parents shouting so loudly that their voices cracked, James was convinced that he had never felt so joyous in his life.


	15. The Fake Quidditch Game

**The Fake Quidditch Game**

Although Gryffindor's victory remained the talk of Hogwarts for weeks, it was not long before preparations for end-of-the-year exams began. Soon James was drowning in homework, and he remembered with a dull throb in his head the pile of assignments that he had accumulated near his first year's summer break. As fascinating as Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts were, James did not appreciate the myriad of complex formulas and instructions that Professors McGonagall and Alamanzar gave out to their classes, and he had no better luck in Potions and Astronomy. For the time being, James and Sirius tried to shrug off as much of their homework as they could, but Remus and Peter got to work immediately, although Peter complained unendingly.

"Mum's going to kill me!" he moaned during Easter break in late April, his head thudding against the Transfiguration textbook lying open on his lap. "I can't remember a thing I read! There's no way that I'm going to pass the exams!"

"Don't talk like that!" Remus admonished, pulling him upright by his collar. "If you go over the material enough, you're sure to remember it!" he said, adding a pointed glare at James and Sirius.

"Hey, we're still working on something useful!" Sirius told him, studying a piece of parchment as he chewed on a quill. "The school thinks that we could all benefit from more work our third year, so we have to choose which classes to take. Right now, I'm stuck between Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy. What do you think?"

"Can't you just take them both?" Remus asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"But I wanted to take Muggle Studies," Sirius replied.

"You can take more than two classes, you know," Remus pointed out.

"And get stuck with all of that homework?" he exclaimed. "I'd almost rather take Potions twice over!"

"I'm going to sign up for Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures," James decided, filling out his own piece of parchment. "They seem like they would be the least dull."

"You won't be in Muggle Studies with me?" Sirius questioned, frowning at him, and James sighed as he shot a glare at him. Blinking his silver eyes, Sirius pursed his lips until he finally broke and scribbled onto his parchment again.

"All right, I'll take Muggle Studies with you if you sign up for both of the other classes," James compromised, and Sirius sank down in his chair before signing the list of classes.

"Deal," he agreed before addressing the others. "Will you join us?"

"I was planning to take Arithmancy and Study of Ancient Runes," Remus answered, biting his lip.

"Then just add on Care of Magical Creatures," James suggested. "You know all about Muggles from your mum, right?"

Opening his mouth, Remus paused for a moment and then nodded, turning back to his homework. Sitting up, Peter said, "I think I'll take Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures, too. Arithmancy sounds even worse than Transfiguration."

"That's why I'm taking it!" James responded, and Peter wrinkled his nose before pounding his head on his textbook again.

Eventually, prompted by Remus' constant guilting, James sat down to tackle a History of Magic essay as soon as the week-long Easter break drew to a close. He managed to fill five decimeters of parchment before giving up and writing in unusually large print for the remainder of the required length, hoping that their ghostly professor would not notice. However, when he stayed after class to turn it in to Professor Binns, he received yet another assignment about the goblin riots of 1814. After class, he visited the library to seek out materials, a task that took over three hours even with Mr. Jaune's comprehensive, alphabetically-arranged file cabinets of the library's contents.

Feeling as if his head would split open from all his reading, James finally made his way back to his dormitory late that night with an armload of material. Once he had squeezed through the door, he swung it shut with his foot and waddled to his four-poster in order to dump his findings on his mattress. On either side of him, Sirius and Peter looked up from their four-posters and watched as James dropped one of the books on his toe and let out a curse.

"Heavy, mate?" Sirius asked, grinning.

"Why didn't you come with me?" James growled, rubbing his toes. "It would have taken half of the time!"

"I already started it," Peter told him, holding his glowing wand-tip over the roll of parchment on his four-poster.

"What about you?" James asked Sirius.

"Eh, I figured I'd just let you do the work and use whatever you found," he answered with a shrug. Smirking, he watched as James glared at him and limped across the floor.

"They're all yours," he spat, favoring his right foot on the way to the washroom. As he grabbed the door handle, he added, "I hope one falls on you, too."

"James!" Sirius called out, but James ignored him as he opened the door and stepped inside.

"Do you mind?" Remus yelped, clutching his pajama shirt to his bare torso on the other side of the door. His hand still on the knob, James froze as Remus floundered to regain composure, letting his covering slip for just a moment; in that instant, James spotted several crisscrossing gashes running across his chest, some still a deep red color as if inflicted more recently than the others.

"Get out!" Remus finally cried, and James stopped gaping as Remus shoved him out of the lavatory and slammed the door in his face.

The whole exchange had only lasted for a matter of seconds, but James stood frozen outside of the washroom for several long moments, blinking at the door only centimeters away from his face. After a considerable stretch of silence, he slowly turned around to face Sirius and Peter, who had watched the exchange quietly. He opened his mouth to ask them if they had seen what he had, but their wide eyes gave him the answer.

Finally breaking away from the door, James walked back to his four-poster and sat down, his mind numb. Nobody spoke for the next few minutes, and they all jumped slightly when the silence was broken by the quiet swinging of the washroom door. Crossing the room rapidly, Remus avoided eye contact as he quickly stuffed his robes away underneath his four-poster.

"Remus?" James finally spoke, biting his lip. "What . . . what happened to you?"

"Would it kill you to knock?" Remus muttered, still not looking at any of the others as he lifted the sheets from his four-poster and climbed under them.

"What happened?" James repeated, firmer this time.

"It's nothing," Remus brushed him off.

Frowning, James prodded, "I don't think—"

"Look, it's none of your business, all right?" Remus snapped, finally turning to glare at him. "Just leave me alone."

Rolling over, he faced the wall and pulled his comforter up to his ears. Closing his mouth, James glanced at Sirius and Peter, who bit their lips as they stared back at him. After a few moments, Peter slowly pushed his essay off of his mattress and doused his wand light, and he and Sirius sank down into their four-posters without a word.

Not in the mood to get up and change, James swung his legs onto his mattress and rested his head on his pillow. Every little sound in the darkened room reached his attentive ears; the small shifts of Sirius and Peter next to him, the whisper of the wind against the windowpane, and Remus' barely audible breathing. Eventually, Remus sniffed sharply and repositioned himself before silencing once more, and Sirius grunted quietly from nearby. Nearly half an hour had gone by before James heard his roommates' breathing deepen, but he stayed awake for several more minutes before finally dropping off.

In the morning, Remus was the first to rise, disappearing behind the washroom door to change. When he came out, the others were sitting up in their four-posters, eyeing him silently; James caught a quick glance from Remus shoot his way, but he soon looked down again as the others stood and tucked in their sheets. Patting his clothes down, James tried to smooth out the wrinkles left from the night.

"So, do you two want to wait for us in the Great Hall?" Sirius eventually spoke, nodding at James and Remus.

"I have to pack," Remus told him bluntly, but James was relieved to hear a note of timidity punctuating his voice as opposed to the previous night's anger.

"Where are you going _now_?" Peter asked, unable to keep the inflection out of his voice. Blinking, Remus lowered his eyes to the floor.

"My parents got tickets to a Quidditch match," he replied. "They've been saving up for a while, and I got permission from Professor McGonagall to miss a couple days of classes." At this, Sirius' eyebrows lifted, but he said nothing.

"Which game?" James asked, studying Remus closely. Watching for a sign of disquiet, he was mildly surprised when his roommate pulled out a copy of _The Daily Prophet_.

"The Harpies and the Wasps," Remus answered, pointing at an article on the front page. Leaning closer, James read the title: "The Birds and the Bees: Final Showdown on Friday."

For a few moments, all four boys stared at the team captains arguing in the photograph on the cover, the room falling into silence. Finally, Sirius cleared his throat, crossing his arms over his chest. "Right. Have fun, then."

Taking a step back at Sirius' deliberately challenging tone, Remus glanced down as he turned away and pulled out his all-too familiar suitcase. Making eye contact behind him, the others quickly prepared for the day and headed down Gryffindor Tower. As soon as they slipped through the Fat Lady's portrait, Sirius shook his head.

"He's lying to us," he announced, and James nodded.

"He is?" Peter asked.

"If his parents had enough money for a Quidditch game, they could at least afford to get him some new robes," Sirius answered, snorting slightly.

"About that . . ." James trailed off, watching as two fourth-years passed by. When they had left, he lowered his voice said, "When he was in the washroom and we saw—well, you know . . . You don't think that his family . . . Well, whenever he comes back from his house, he always has . . . I mean, you don't think his parents—well . . ."

Catching on, Sirius shook his head and scoffed. "No, of course not! Have you heard Remus talking about his parents? He adores them!"

Although embarrassed, James felt his muscles relax. "It's just that whenever we don't see him for a few days, he always seems to get hurt."

"I know," Sirius agreed, rubbing his chin. "Now that I think about it, I've never seen him take off his robes in our room before—or even, you know," he added with a frown, "roll up his sleeves for Herbology."

"What do you think is the matter with him?" Peter asked after a pause, and James and Sirius shared a look.

"I don't know," Sirius replied. "Do you think that we should tell somebody?"

Thinking rapidly, James nodded. "We should talk to Professor McGonagall. If anyone will know what to do, it'll be her."

"Let's talk to her after class tomorrow," Sirius suggested. "Remus will be gone by then, and I don't want anyone to overhear us."

"Good idea," James agreed, and the three grew quiet as another group of students approached.

* * *

Remus disappeared after speaking with them that morning, and their room seemed strangely quiet in his absence; however, James knew that the others were only anticipating their talk with Professor McGonagall the next day. The following afternoon, James played with his quill through most of their Transfiguration lecture, too busy thinking about Remus to concentrate on the principles of element manipulation. Since the class was not a practical lesson, McGonagall did not seem half as surprised as she normally would have been at James' apparent boredom, but she still had to rap her fingers loudly on her desk several times throughout the period to wake him and his roommates from their stupor.

When McGonagall finally dismissed the class, she turned around to erase the notes that she had drawn on the blackboard; a few moments later, she turned back around and stared at James, Sirius, and Peter where they waited in front of her.

"Yes?" she inquired, peering over her spectacles. "Can I help you?"

"We were wondering if you could tell us something," James replied.

"Well, what is it?" McGonagall demanded, still glancing back and forth between the boys. "If you had a question about the lecture, why didn't you raise your hand during class?"

"It's not about the lesson," James explained. "It's about Remus." As soon as these words came out of his mouth, McGonagall's mouth tightened, and she narrowed her eyes.

"You see," Sirius put in, "something's not quite right, but we can't figure it out."

"Yeah," Peter agreed. "He's been acting really strange."

"He always seems to get injured whenever we let him out of our sight," Sirius said.

"He keeps on giving us excuses, saying that he tripped or that Peeves attacked him," James told her, "but he's not clumsy, and he doesn't go out looking for trouble."

"Is there any reason why you wouldn't take him at his word?" Professor McGonagall asked pointedly, crossing her arms.

"He gets really nervous whenever we try to talk about it, and he always manages to change the subject or run off," James answered, pausing slightly. "He's just . . . well . . ."

"What, exactly, Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall cut in. "Intelligent? Studious? Respectful? Kind?"

"Sickly?" James finally tried. Sighing, McGonagall removed her spectacles and placed them on her desk.

"I'm sure that if there was something you needed to know, he would have told you," she said, moving away to gather her supplies. "It's best that you mind your own business."

"But—" James started.

"I've heard enough," McGonagall interrupted, waving him off. "Go on and get out of my classroom."

Their shoulders slumped, James and the others turned and walked out into the hallway. "Well, that didn't go well," Sirius commented as soon as the door had closed behind them.

James opened his mouth to agree, but he quieted when Professor Alamanzar appeared around the corner with a group of older Slytherin students. Waving, James waited as the short wizard approached.

"Where are you going?" he asked Alamanzar. "Isn't your classroom the other way?"

Glancing once at his followers, Professor Alamanzar smiled at James while the Slytherins glared down at him; James guessed that they were still upset at Gryffindor for winning the Quidditch Cup. "I am teaching a practical lesson on the grounds," Alamanzar explained. "I will talk to you later, is it okay?"

"See you in class," James said, and Alamanzar beamed before leading the Slytherins away. Huffing, one of the students near the back turned and whispered to his friend as they passed by.

"If we have to stop for one more person, I'm going to lose it. Professor Torrence doesn't like it when we're late."

"I've never heard of a Professor Torrence here," Peter said once the Slytherins had walked off.

"He's probably just the Arithmancy professor," Sirius guessed. "I think they might have a joint class."

"Well, it's getting late," James pointed out, glancing towards a dark window nearby. "We should get back to our room and figure out what's wrong with Remus on our own. If Professor McGonagall isn't going to help, it's up to us now."

For a moment, the boys remained silent until Sirius' spine suddenly bolted upright and he snapped his fingers. "I've got it!"

"What?" the others asked in unison.

"Evans always gets the evening edition of _The Daily Prophet_ , right?" Sirius asked, smiling and straightening his collar. "All that we need to do is ask her whether the Wasps or the Harpies won the match today. That way, we can tell whether or not Remus actually went to the game when he comes back!"

"Doesn't Remus get the paper, too?" Peter pointed out.

"Yes, but I don't think that he'll get it before tomorrow if he isn't at Hogwarts," Sirius argued.

"That's perfect!" James praised. "I think that Evans just left Transfiguration for the Great Hall, so she shouldn't be hard to find."

Running through the castle, the three boys finally made it, huffing, to the ground floor in front of the Great Hall's double doors. Passing under the full moon hanging in the star-laden sky of the enchanted ceiling, James jogged to where Lily and her roommates sat at the Gryffindor table. Brightening, James spotted the copy of _The Daily Prophet_ lying open in Lily's hands.

"Hey, Evans!" he called out, making Lily and the other girls look his way. "Can you do me a favor?"

"What do you want?" Lily hissed in a whisper, glancing around at the other tables as James' loud voice caused several students to look their way.

"Did the Wasps or the Harpies win today?" James asked, coming to a stop in front of her.

"Why do you want to know?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, you see," James explained, "Sirius and I have a little bet going. Ten Galleons says that the Harpies won by fifty points."

"You bet ten Galleons on a Quidditch game?" Alice gasped, apparently unable to fathom someone leaving that much money up to chance. Grinning at the sight of her open mouth, James nodded. Still frowning, Lily glanced down at _The Daily Prophet_ before looking back up with a smirk.

"Sorry, Potter," she told him. "The Wasps managed to catch the Snitch and pull ahead by twenty points."

"Blimey," James said, smiling. "Thanks anyway, Evans!" As he turned away from her tilted head, he stopped short when he saw Sirius in front of him, grinning with his palm out. Glaring at him, James grumbled an obscenity and reached into his robes' pockets, only finding four Galleons.

"You'll get the rest later," he growled at Sirius as he dropped the money into his hand.

Pocketing the coins, Sirius hummed cheerily to himself all throughout dinner, only losing his grin when James refused to give him any more money once they had returned to their dormitory. Still upset by his loss, James climbed into his four-poster feeling irked, but sleep soon robbed him of his frustration as the night's hours passed by. When he woke up, he joined his roommates in the Great Hall for a quick breakfast before climbing back up to their dormitory to work on his Transfiguration homework. After a half hour or so, the door to their room swung open and Remus walked in, lugging his suitcase and rubbing his eyes.

"How was the game?" James asked, jumping up from his four-poster with the others. Starting, Remus stared at him before walking inside.

"I thought that you would be eating breakfast already," Remus told him, hoisting his suitcase onto his four-poster. Stepping next to James as Remus turned around to rummage through his belongings, Sirius crossed his arms.

"We just got back," he explained.

"So," James said casually, "who won the match?"

Remus paused, his hand hovering over his open suitcase, but after a moment he turned around with an unnaturally wide smile and shook his head. "If you didn't find out at breakfast this morning, I'm not going to tell you," he finally answered, inching carefully around James' and Sirius' unmoving forms until he reached the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get the material I missed."

Letting him go, the others stared after him as he disappeared through the doorway and trudged down the stairs. As soon as they could no longer hear his footsteps, Sirius spoke.

"He doesn't know who won," he stated matter-of-factly, his arms still crossed.

"Where did he go, then?" Peter asked, and James narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know," he replied, "but we're going to find out."


	16. Remus' Secret

**Remus' Secret**

For the next few weeks, James, Sirius, and Peter kept a close watch on Remus' activity, making sure not to let him go anywhere on his own. Although pleased at first with Peter's continual pleas to join him in the library to study, Remus seemed to grow wary of his requests after two weeks of his constant asking, and he began to relent only grudgingly. He withdrew even more around James and Sirius, and declining every offer that they made of studying, playing cards, or even sitting in the common room together. Eventually, Sirius reached a breaking point, and he began to openly prod Remus about his frequent disappearances, causing Remus to make a habit of leaving the room whenever someone entered. As time wore on, he became more and more reticent around his roommates, and James and Sirius eventually had to use the Invisibility Cloak and their two-way mirrors to follow him more stealthily throughout the castle. However, as James had half-expected when they began, they could find nothing unusual about his behavior while he remained at Hogwarts.

"It's useless!" Sirius told James through his mirror one day, pulling off the Invisibility Cloak and resting against a wooden bookshelf behind him. "All he's done is sit in the library for the past three hours. I'm starting to think that we'll never find out anything this way."

"You might be right," James relented from one of the castle's courtyards, squinting his eyes against the sun as it blinded his glasses. Pausing to remove them, he glared at several students as they gave him passing glances, obviously wondering who he was talking to. When they walked by, he looked back down at the mirror in his hand. "The best thing that we can do is to follow him when he leaves Hogwarts again."

"Great—I'm sick of squatting next to bookcases," Sirius agreed, getting up. "You go and tell Peter the change of plan."

"Right," James answered. "In that case, give me back my Cloak. We'll just wait until Remus packs up again."

After that, James could sleep again without worrying that he would wake up in the morning and find Remus missing. Still, Peter continued to rely on Remus for help on his homework, and James turned to his own assignments with a heavy heart when he realized that their exams were only a few weeks away. As they did the year before, the professors tasked their classes with essays almost daily, and James had to spend a few hours each day completing his homework, even though most subjects posed no real problem. In fact, Potions and History of Magic seemed the only classes that challenged his memory and patience.

"If I have to write one more essay about the properties of the Shrinking Solution, I'm going to hex Professor Slughorn and blame it on Peter," James complained to Sirius, throwing himself back onto his four-poster one Sunday afternoon in the middle of May.

"Blame it on me," Sirius replied. "I'm the one who will do it first."

At that moment, Peter entered their dormitory with an arm-load of books. Sitting comfortably on his four-poster, Sirius watched him waddle unsteadily inside. "Back from the library?" he asked.

"Yeah," Peter answered before tripping over his own foot and careening sideways onto his four-poster, which softened the fall. "Ow!"

"Where's Remus?" James asked as Peter picked himself up and brushed his robes down. "Didn't he go with you?"

"He said that he wasn't feeling good," he replied. "He went to the hospital wing a few minutes ago."

"He did _what_?" James and Sirius demanded, jumping upright. Blinking, Peter only stared at them.

"You didn't follow him?" Sirius exclaimed. "You can't let him out of your sight!"

Biting his fingers, Peter protested, "But I thought it didn't matter if he was just—"

"We've talked about this!" Sirius interrupted. "The hospital wing is off-limits!"

"Come on!" James commanded, grabbing the Invisibility Cloak from his bedpost and running for the door.

Both he and Sirius raced down to the ground floor, followed closely by Peter, and they bolted past the students heading towards the Great Hall for dinner. Nearing the hospital wing, they slowed down and peeked through the doorway, spying the two rows of white beds lining the length of the room. Only a few students lay in the cots, apparently trying to sleep away some infirmity or another in the peace and quiet. Quickly crossing the room, James and the others scanned the beds for Remus, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Is Madam Pomfrey here?" James asked a young Ravenclaw boy sitting up on his cot, watching the newcomers silently.

"She left about ten minutes ago," the boys answered. When James, Sirius, and Peter gaped at each other, he cocked his head. "Do you need her?"

None of them bothered to answer as they rushed out of the hospital wing, scouring the corridor right and left. Turning back towards the main staircase, they ran down the hallway until reaching the Entrance Hall, craning to see Remus' head in the crowd of milling students on their way to and from supper. Feeling a twisting sensation in his stomach, James did not spy Remus' tousled brown hair amidst the dozens of passersby.

Rounding on Peter, Sirius demanded, "Did he say anything else?"

"N—no!" Peter stammered in a high-pitched voice. "He just said that he was going down to the hospital wing!"

"How long ago did he leave?" James prodded.

"Maybe ten minutes ago . . . no, fifteen . . ."

Letting out a groan, Sirius turned and banged his fist against the wall, causing an old wizard in the picture frame above to jump. "We don't have time for this!"

"It couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes ago," Peter decided firmly, turning to James.

"He must have gotten to the hospital wing before us," James said, kicking the ground.

" _If_ he really was going there," Sirius interjected, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"We can't give up now!" James burst out, throwing his hands into the air. "We have to find him before he disappears completely! We'll just ask around and see if anyone else saw him on the way from—"

"Are you looking for someone?" a girlish voice asked from behind him, and he whirled to face Bertha Jorkins where she stood with six or more of her confidants.

Putting aside his initial revulsion at her smug face, James answered, "Yes! Have you seen Remus?"

"You mean Lupin?" she asked, rubbing her wide chin. "I was actually hoping that you could tell me where he went to."

"What do you mean?" James questioned, frowning.

"Oh, anyone with half a brain knows that he disappears every so often," Jorkins replied, shrugging, and the other girls behind her nodded. "Grempkin thinks that it's just an illness, but I know better. I think that he's hiding something," she stated, narrowing her eyes at James.

"Well, you're both wrong," James told her, suddenly feeling defensive of his friend. As Jorkins took a step back at his sharp tone, he pressed on, "So have you seen him or not?"

"No," she sniffed. "Why do you want to know so badly?"

"We're just looking for him, that's all," James replied shortly. He contemplated walking away, but then he thought better of it. "What else are they saying about Remus?"

Exchanging a look with the other girls, Jorkins waited as a few of them started whispering to each other. "Lots of things," a girl with long ringlets finally spoke up.

"Some people think that he has remedial classes after hours," another told them.

"Or that he's serving detention somewhere secret," someone piped up.

"Some even say that his parents have a hoard of Galleons stashed away in Gringotts, and they take him on regular vacations to the Atlantis Archipelago," Jorkins added with a smirk.

Disappointed, James fought the temptation to shake his head. He knew that Remus had no trouble in school, whether academically or behaviorally, and he knew enough to realize that his roommate's parents could not afford such expensive trips.

"Still," Jorkins commented to the others behind her, "you would think that Grempkin had something going after all, seeing how often Lupin meets up with Madam Pomfrey."

"What did you say?" James and Sirius demanded together, and Jorkins gave them a frown.

"He's always sneaking off with Madam Pomfrey through the castle," she told them as if stating the obvious. "I thought that you knew. I always assumed that they were—"

"Where do they go?" Sirius interrupted.

"Normally around the west side of the castle, but—"

"Well, why didn't you just say that's where he was?" James exclaimed, and he, Sirius, and Peter started running for the door on the other end of the Entrance Hall.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Jorkins yelled after them, the girls behind her buzzing with questions, but the boys had disappeared through a doorway before she could stop them.

Running quickly, James scanned the corridors for Remus and Madam Pomfrey, leaving behind the crowded interior of the Entrance Hall. Winding through an unfamiliar passage, the boys peered down each new doorway that they passed, but there were too few exits to validate a change of course. Hoping that Remus had stayed in the main hallway, James loped over the carpeted floor in front of his roommates.

After a few minutes, they slowed down just enough for Peter to lean down and catch his breath. Gradually falling behind James' powerful pace, Sirius commented, "It sure would help if we had a map."

"Wait, I think that the hallway comes to a dead end!" James told the others, spotting a solid wall just a short distance ahead. Running up to its surface, he frowned and searched for a doorway on either side of the corridor, but he found none.

"Have you tried pushing on it?" Peter piped up from behind, approaching the wall. When the others turned to stare at him, he shrugged and said, "There's a door on the fifth floor that disguises itself as a wall sometimes. Maybe this one does that, too."

Reaching out, James prodded the wall gently at first, but he immediately felt the stone slabs shudder at his touch. Using both hands, he shoved against the wall and watched as the heavy blocks curled away much like the entrance to Diagon Alley, and he stepped through the opening onto the Hogwarts grounds. In the distance, silhouetted against the Forbidden Forest, James spotted Remus and Madam Pomfrey walking unhurriedly while the Whomping Willow swayed gently in the background.

"Look!" he cried, pointing at them, but Sirius grabbed his arm to silence him.

"We see them," he replied, staring unblinkingly at their quarry.

Pulling out his Invisibility Cloak, James shook it open. "Quick! Hide in here!"

Obeying, Sirius and Peter disappeared underneath the fabric with James, and the three soon shuffled forward to catch up to the two figures ahead. However, no sooner had they started to close the distance between them and their quarry did Madam Pomfrey and Remus turn suddenly, heading for the threatening figure of the Whomping Willow.

"Where are they going?" Peter whispered, and he let out a grunt as James and Sirius simultaneously nudged his ribs.

Watching Madam Pomfrey and Remus, they slowed slightly as the two came to a halt a safe distance away from the Whomping Willow. Pulling out her wand, Madam Pomfrey muttered an inaudible incantation and sent a spell shooting at a small knot near the base of the trunk. Rearing, the Willow thrashed in response to the attack until the flash of light made contact; when it hit, the Willow instantly stilled, looking just like any other normal tree in the forest. James felt his mouth fall open, and he stared as Madam Pomfrey patted Remus on the back and sent him walking towards the Willow. Holding his breath, James waited for the tree to snap back to life and pummel him, but the Willow's branches hung limply as Remus lowered onto his hands and knees and disappeared amid the gnarly roots.

Moments passed, and still Remus did not reappear. Frozen in place, James watched as Madam Pomfrey shook her head and began to walk back towards the castle. Walking slowly, she passed by James and his roommates where they stood under the Invisibility Cloak. When she reached the castle wall, she placed her hand on the rough stone and waited as the bricks moved aside before disappearing on the other side. When the wall had reformed behind her, James threw off the Cloak and turned to the others.

"I've never seen anyone get that close to the Whomping Willow!" Sirius spoke first, a hint of a smile on his face. "All this time Remus has been telling us not to go near the Willow, and he could walk right up to it all along!"

"But where did he go?" Peter asked, voicing the more pressing issue.

"Come on!" James told the others, setting off towards the Whomping Willow.

Jogging as close as he dared, he slowed down a short distance from the motionless branches, but he was still closer to the trunk than he had ever been before. From his new position, he was able to spy an opening near the base of the tree big enough for a full-grown person to slip through. Narrowing his eyes, he began to creep forward, but a deep voice from behind halted him in his path.

"What are yeh doin'?" Spinning around, James hid his Invisibility Cloak behind his back as Hagrid stomped up to the trio and glanced at the tree behind them. "Yeh aren't plannin' on goin' near the Willow, are yeh? Yeh know that's strictly forbidden."

"No!" James, Sirius, and Peter all exclaimed at once, jumping away from the tree. Frowning, Hagrid cocked his head.

"Well, that's good," he told them. "We can't have anythin' happenin' to yeh like what happened ter Davey Gudgeon, now." Stroking his beard, Hagrid stared at the Whomping Willow as it began to stir again, and James felt his heart plummet. "What are yeh doin' out here, then?" Hagrid questioned the boys.

"Oh," James said, glancing at the others. "Nothing, really."

"Hmm," Hagrid grunted, continuing to rub his chin. "Well, best be gettin' inside before dark, then. Fang and I are patrollin' tonight, an' I thought tha' I might get another look around the forest. It's a full moon tonight, yeh know—best time ter do it. Well, I'll see yeh later."

Lumbering off, Hagrid walked back to his hut while the others climbed back up the hill towards the castle. As soon as they had walked out of earshot, they turned to each other with slumping shoulders.

"I guess that we'll have to figure out how to get into the Willow next time," Sirius sighed. "There's no way that we'll be able to sneak in with Hagrid marching around the grounds."

Nodding wordlessly, Peter began to follow after Sirius, but James stopped dead in his tracks as his heart froze mid-beat. His legs immobile underneath him, he stared at a fixed point in the grass as the others turned to look at him.

"What is it?" Sirius asked.

"Did Hagrid just say that it was the full moon?" James asked, feeling each breath of chilly evening air as it expanded his lungs.

"Yes," Peter answered, tilting his head. Another rush of shock ran through James' body, and he shivered as his mind began to race. Only as his feet began to grow uncomfortably warm in his shoes did he realize that they had gone cold.

"It's just something that I remembered," he whispered, almost to himself. "That night in the Forbidden Forest, Remus told me that it wasn't the full moon. But I couldn't see any light through the trees, and it was still daytime when we entered the forest. How could he have known?"

Exchanging a glance, Sirius and Peter remained silent as they looked back at him. Glancing up, James met their eyes. "It was the full moon a month ago, too. I remember seeing it in the Great Hall's enchanted ceiling."

Nodding slowly, Sirius said, "That's how the full moon works, James."

"Don't you see?" James exclaimed, his heart beating against his chest. "Remus was gone that day! He was also gone the month before that, and the month before that! He's gone every month . . . _on the full moon_."

The effect of his words took a moment to sink in, but Sirius drew back after a few seconds, his eyes widening. "You don't mean—"

"But it all makes sense!" James interrupted. "That's why he missed the Hogwarts Express earlier this year: it was the full moon! All those excuses he gave us, all those times he ended up in the hospital wing, he wasn't really sick at all!"

"What are you talking about?" Peter demanded, looking back and forth between James and Sirius.

"Peter," James gulped, resisting the urge to grab his shoulders, "Remus is a werewolf."

Gasping, Peter clapped a hand to his mouth as Sirius clutched a fistful of his hair and stared at the ground. "I didn't want to believe it at first, but it all makes sense!" Sirius stated. "I knew that there was something off about him from the day we met." Stopping, he shuddered. "I just never realized that it was this bad."

" _Oh Merlin, oh Merlin, oh Merlin,_ " Peter whispered to himself, rocking on his heels. "We've been living with a _werewolf!_ "

Taking a shaky breath, Sirius looked at Peter and added, "That's probably why he has all those scars, too. Who knows what he does during his transformations! Do you remember what Professor Alamanzar said?"

Thinking back on their lesson about werewolves, James remembered snippets of Alamanzar's lecture: _Highly dangerous creatures incapable of reason . . . A beast lives within, released every full moon . . ._ Thinking even further back, James recalled the time that they had fought against the boggart during Defense Against the Dark Arts; once again, he came face to face with his contemptuous copy in his mind's eye, remembering how his own reflection had stared at Remus with such loathing. Surprised, James felt a twinge of shame at the memory. Remus had not been able to face the boggart . . .

"What should we do?" Peter squeaked towards Sirius. "We have to tell someone!"

"I don't know," Sirius responded, sounding unsure of himself for the first time in James' memory. "I don't expect that anyone will believe us unless we give them proof."

"We should tell them everything!" Peter insisted. "They'll have to believe us!"

"What do you say, James?" Sirius asked, both he and Peter quieting.

Avoiding their expectant expressions for a moment, James thought back on his memories of Remus throughout the year. He remembered how Remus had refused to visit him over the summer, the way that his eyes had lit up when he first spotted his roommates in the Great Hall, how he had blamed Peeves for the gash on his neck in the hospital wing, how he had cheered alongside Sirius and Peter when Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup, his wild expression when he slammed the washroom door in James' face. Above all, James remembered Remus' boggart, shifting from James to Sirius and to Peter in turn. How Remus must have feared this day, knowing how his roommates would react.

As the memory of Remus' boggart flooded him, James also remembered his own. In a flash, he finally understood. In a way, he too feared being alone, but not as Professor Alamanzar had said. Glancing up at Sirius and Peter where they stood staring at him, James knew how much they needed him to take charge, and the realization sent a rush of purpose jolting through his bones. Straightening, he steeled his fists as he stared back at them. He did not know how he could fear his friends not needing him when they relied on him so much, but James knew that there was only one person who needed him right now.

"We can't let anyone know," James stated firmly, his voice far calmer than he would have thought possible.

"Why not?" Peter demanded at once, but all James could hear was the whispers of the students as Remus stood motionless before his boggart.

"Remus isn't dangerous!" James declared, feeling the weight of the others' eyes on him. "This is _Remus_ we're talking about! Remus, the one who would never disobey a rule to save his life!" Turning to Peter, he asked, "Do you remember all those times when he helped you with your homework? All those times that he gave us chocolate and a smile when we were down?" he added, looking at Sirius. "If any one of us needed a friend, he'd be the first to show up! We need to do the same for him." Eventually, James began to see a softening in the others as they lowered their gazes. Lowering his voice, he urged, "He's still only Remus; he's still our mate. This doesn't change anything!"

For a long moment, there was silence. James did not take his eyes away from the others as Sirius stared at the grass and Peter bit his lip; finally, Sirius looked up and nodded. "You're right," he agreed. "He's still Remus."

Wide-eyed, Peter glanced back and forth between his roommates, the both of them now staring at him. "But—but what about—" he stammered.

"Listen, Peter, just give him a chance!" James burst, and Peter withdrew at his sharp tone. "I'm not about to sell him out! He's always been a werewolf, and we've always been his mate! Just because we know the truth now doesn't mean that he's changed!"

Silenced, Peter glanced between James and Sirius. Seeing no sympathy in their gazes, he finally lowered his eyes and gulped. "Okay," he agreed. "I—I won't tell anyone."

"Good," James said, turning back to stare at the swishing Whomping Willow. "We'll talk to him in the morning, and we won't let him slip away this time."

Following his gaze, the others watched as one of the Willow's tremendous branches hit the earth, tearing through the grass. As it lifted, it left several deep parallel lines in the dirt, almost like the slash of a gigantic pair of claws. After several quiet moments, James and the others slowly turned towards the castle and continued to climb the hill.


	17. Hagrid's Capture

**Hagrid's Capture**

James hardly slept that night, still recovering from his shock as he wondered how to address Remus in the morning. As he tossed and turned, he could hear Sirius and Peter doing the same beside him, and he knew that they were all thinking about the same thing. After a few hours of inner turmoil, James finally managed to doze off, but he soon woke with an uncomfortable twist in his spine as his muscles screamed in protest at a tense night's sleep.

None of the boys talked as they got ready for the day, abandoning all hope of conversation as they waited for the time to tick by. No one moved when the clock chimed ten, signaling the beginning of Herbology; instead, they just stared at their hands, their thumbs twitching. A few minutes later, Peter began to play with a loose thread on his comforter.

Finally, the door to their dormitory opened, and they all jerked upright as Remus walked inside and tossed his suitcase in front of him, apparently thinking that he had the room to himself. Looking up, he jumped at the sight of his roommates staring at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as they all stood. "You're supposed to be in Herbology."

"Remus, we have to talk," Sirius spoke first.

"Talk about what?" Remus responded, narrowing his eyes.

"We figured it out last night," James replied. Staring at him, Remus did not blink as he slowly searched the others' faces.

"Figured what out?" he eventually whispered.

"Why you leave every month . . . during the full moon," James answered.

Instantly paling, Remus fell onto his four-poster and stared at the floor, breathing shakily. The others all took a step forward, but they stopped when Remus groaned and let his head fall into his hands . "That's it. I'm done. All these preparations, all this effort, and I can't even make it through my second year." Not even bothering to look up, he asked, "I guess the whole school knows by now, don't they?" Shaking his head, he stared at his hands with a scowl. "It doesn't matter. It was stupid of me to think that I could keep it hidden, anyway."

"Hold on," James interjected. "We didn't tell anyone, and we're not going to, either."

Raising his head, Remus looked up into his roommates' faces, just seeming to realize that they were not glaring at him. "What do you mean?"

"We're not going to tell anyone," James repeated, and Sirius and Peter nodded behind him.

"We've talked it over, and we decided to keep it to ourselves," Sirius added, nudging Peter.

"R—right!" Peter said, pulling himself up to his full height as the others crossed their arms. Gaping, Remus glanced back and forth between them as if searching for a sign of deceit.

"But—but why?" he stammered.

"Because you're our mate, Remus," James answered simply.

"But I'm dangerous!" Remus protested, looking down at his hands again. "I'm a . . . a monster."

"Remus, you're the least dangerous person I know," Sirius told him, huffing a little. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you wanted us to turn you in."

Sitting down beside Remus, James and the others waited while he opened and closed his mouth several times. Finally, he managed to ask, "You all decided this?" When they all nodded, he just shook his head and stared at the floor again.

"There's one condition, though," Sirius spoke up, and Remus' head snapped upright. "You need to tell us everything. Why did Madam Pomfrey take you to the Whomping Willow?"

"How did you know about that?" Remus demanded, his mouth falling open.

"We followed you last night under the Invisibility Cloak," Peter explained.

"Well," Remus began after a short lull, biting his lip, "there's a secret tunnel just under the Whomping Willow that leads to a place where I can safely . . . transform. It's an old building over in a town called—well, do you remember learning about Hogsmeade in History of Magic? It's only a short walk from Hogwarts, and I just have to make it to the building by nightfall. It has all sorts of protective enchantments and Silencing Charms placed on it so that I can't get out; although, sometimes," he admitted, "people can still hear me howling."

Sharing a glance with Sirius, James asked, "You don't mean the Shrieking Shack, do you?" When Remus stared at him blankly, he explained, "A sort of dingy-looking hut with boarded-up windows and doors?"

"The Shrieking Shack? Is that what they're calling it?" Remus asked, huffing and shaking his head. Looking up, he stared more intensely at James. "How did you know about it?"

"Just heard about it," James answered, shrugging as Sirius gave a small smirk.

"But why do you have to go into the Whomping Willow every full moon?" Peter asked Remus. "Can't you just use a room in the castle?"

"That's far too dangerous," Remus replied, shaking his head. "I might get loose. Besides, everyone would hear me howling and scratching the walls."

"If Madam Pomfrey brings you to the Whomping Willow every month, does she already know that you're a werewolf?" James interrogated.

"Yes," Remus replied. "She's one of the few staff members who do. Dumbledore told her so that she could help me before and after my transformations, and he also told Professor McGonagall just in case anything ever went wrong and he wasn't within reach. Still, he agreed not to tell all of the professors since they might—er—treat me differently." Thinking of his own reaction when he had first figured out Remus' secret, James nodded.

"Dumbledore knows?" Sirius asked, tilting his head.

"He's the one who convinced my parents to let me attend Hogwarts in the first place," Remus answered, a brief smile flitting across his face. Gradually talking more freely, he explained, "That's actually when I first met Dumbledore. My parents didn't think that I would be able to go to Hogwarts because of my condition, but Dumbledore told them that he would make all the appropriate accommodations to keep the other students safe."

"And that's why you were so nervous when people were trying to get close to the Whomping Willow," James guessed. "You didn't want them to find the tunnel."

"Even more than that, I didn't want them to get hurt," Remus attested. "If the Willow had killed someone, it would be all my fault. I could never forgive myself if that happened."

Hugging himself, he trailed off while the others grew quiet. Finally, Sirius broke the silence by clearing his throat. "So, what's it like? You know . . . being a werewolf."

For a moment, James thought that Remus would not respond, but he eventually spoke in a subdued voice. "It's . . . painful. You grow weaker as the moon waxes, but it's the worst on the full moon. As soon as you transform, your mind goes blank for the better part of the night. If I wasn't blocked by protective enchantments, I'd find my way out and attack the nearest human. I very nearly did several times at home." He broke off and shuddered. "But if I can't find anyone to harm, I end up biting and scratching myself instead."

"That . . . explains a lot," James thought out loud, and Remus bit his lip as another silence ensued. After a few moments, Remus slowly pulled up his right sleeve, exposing a jagged scar made by what looked like a pair of fangs.

"This is where I was first bitten," he told the others. Staring at his forearm, James noticed that the bite mark seemed stretched, as if it had grown along with Remus.

"When did you first become a werewolf?" he asked.

Covering his arm again, Remus answered, "I was four years old. I don't really remember much before then. Every month since, my parents have had to lock me in our basement when the moon reached its climax. Our neighbors couldn't help but notice the strange noises coming from our house when I grew older, so we never stayed in one place for long." Remus bit his lip and glanced up at James. "That's why Hardwin had a hard time finding me during the summer. We have to keep moving so that people don't ask questions. I was never allowed to play with the neighborhood kids in case they found out that I was a werewolf, so I was excited when Dumbledore offered me a place at Hogwarts." Glancing at the floor again, he muttered, "Somehow, I thought that things would be different."

"So, all those times you disappeared, you were going to the Whomping Willow?" Peter asked.

"Right," Remus confessed. "The reason why you found me in the hospital wing so many times was because Madam Pomfrey was giving me medication. There's no cure for lycanthropy, but there are some potions that make the after-effects less painful; if they work, that is. She would also mend my wounds as best she could after I returned from a full moon, though not in front of her other patients. Still, scratches and bites from a werewolf can never fully heal."

"Peeves never really did attack you, then," James guessed. "And last year, when your mum grew ill—that was just another excuse?"

Nodding, Remus explained, "I had to keep making up stories so that you wouldn't get suspicious."

"If you've never once left Hogwarts, why do you have to pack up your suitcase?" Peter questioned.

"There was really no need," Remus told him. "It was just to keep up the illusion. Still, I sometimes rip through my robes, and I need to bring a change of clothes. I usually keep my suitcase in the tunnel so that I don't accidentally destroy it, but my transformation caught me off-guard one night, and I almost tore it open while it was still in the room. Thankfully, I stopped myself long enough to run in the other direction." Shrugging, he said, "Something about it seemed familiar, I suppose."

Sitting up, James exclaimed, "So there's hope, then! Your memories aren't completely gone when you transform!"

"That was once, James, and it only happened for a split second," Remus pointed out rapidly, his eyes widening. "No one has been able to find a cure, so don't—"

"But there's still a chance that we'll be able to do something!" James insisted while Sirius and Peter nodded vigorously, their eyes locked on him. Jumping up from Remus' four-poster, James crossed his arms and proclaimed, "From now on, Remus, I'm going to look for a way to make your transformations easier!"

"We all are!" Sirius added, standing, and Peter jumped up by his side.

Staring up at his friends, Remus did not offer any further protests, and James could see the moisture beginning to well up in his eyes. Pulling him up into a hug, James let Remus go as he let out a choked sort of laugh.

"Well," James announced, grinning at Remus, "shall we be off? Like you said, we're late for Herbology!"

Smiling, Remus wiped his nose with his sleeve as Sirius patted his back and led him towards the door with the others. As the four boys walked through the castle halls, James strode in the front and parted the masses of students crowding the corridors while Peter and Sirius helped on both sides.

"Move along!" James shouted, shoving a fifth-year aside. As the jostling students glared at him, he cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled, "Make way for the Chocolate King!"

"You heard him, move aside!" Sirius barked at a gawking first-year, pushing him to the wall as Remus stifled a snort. Eventually, the crowd caught on and parted before the small parade could reach them, and the four traveled more quickly throughout the castle until they reached the grounds.

When they made it to the second greenhouse, James flung open the door with a flourish, letting it bang loudly as the students inside jumped. Holding their heads at a jaunty angle, James and Sirius led the way past Professor Sprout, who watched the latecomers with an upturned eyebrow as they took their places along the shelves.

Finally, Sprout cleared her throat and addressed the boys as they beamed in her direction. "Do you care to explain yourselves?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Not really," James answered, and Professor Sprout narrowed her eyes.

"Well, I'm sure that the class would love to know why you have decided to only attend the last half of the lecture," she sniffed as their classmates stared at them.

"I don't think that we can do that," Sirius told her, and she raised an eyebrow.

"And why not?" she questioned, her voice a near-growl.

"Well," James explained, frowning up at the ceiling, "I don't think that Remus would approve. Would you, Remus?" Shaking his head, Remus tried unsuccessfully to suppress a grin as James turned back towards Professor Sprout. "Well, there you go. I'm afraid that we can't tell you."

"The Chocolate King has spoken," Sirius said decidedly, nodding. Her eye twitching, Sprout turned around to once again face a bushel of giant, bell-like flowers in the front of the greenhouse.

"Detention after class, you two," she told them. "Lupin and Pettigrew can write me an essay about Fanged Bell-Snappers before the end of this week."

"You can't separate us from our mates!" James cried, causing the whole class to jump again. "What about poor Remus? He'll be lonely without us! You can't let him and Peter run around by themselves! They might get into trouble!"

"NOT ANY MORE THAN YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE IN!" Professor Sprout spat, spinning around as her plump face turned a deep shade of purple. "QUIET DOWN OR I'LL HAVE YOU PULLING BOBOTUBER BUDS FOR A WEEK!"

Silenced, James and Sirius turned back to Remus as Sprout again faced the giant flowers. "It's all right," Remus whispered to them as he leaned in, smiling slightly. "I didn't really want to join you, anyway."

"Why, Remus, you little beast!" Sirius exclaimed. At this, all four boys erupted into a fit of laughter, causing Professor Sprout to whip around and chuck her trowel at James' head; finally facing the front of the greenhouse, James rubbed his new bruise as the others continued to snicker quietly throughout the lecture.

* * *

As the days passed and the end-of-the-year exams started, Remus became positively euphoric, accompanied by his newly understanding friends. The week before the exams, James and Sirius finally agreed to join him and Peter in the library, but the four accomplished little work between their laughter and Mr. Jaune's harsh glares. However, thanks to the time that they had spent in the library, James managed to pass the History of Magic exam without a problem, and he rather felt as if Remus had equipped him with more knowledge than Professor Binns had over the entire year.

Still, James felt significantly more prepared for Defense Against the Dark Arts the following morning, the one exam aside from Transfiguration that he was actually looking forward to. Professor Alamanzar had set up several cages throughout the room for the practical portion of the exam, and the students took turns displaying the proper counter-spells against the creatures inside. After successfully evading a couple of doxies and a hinkypunk, the class queued in front of a boggart that Alamanzar had procured from some dark corner of the castle. Peter was the first of James' roommates to step in front of the boggart, which promptly ceased flapping like a fish on dry land as it abandoned its disguise as a sea serpent. In an instant, it had morphed into a tall figure with a pointed hat and a fierce scowl, and Peter let out a squeak before waving his wand at the advancing form of McGonagall. Immediately, the boggart's long robes stuck fast to its legs as if frozen solid; unable to move properly, it waddled slowly around the classroom, trying not to trip while the students laughed uproariously. Turning back around to face his roommates, Peter smiled almost as widely as Remus, who looked as if he might start to cry. Wiping his face, he simply stepped up to the boggart as Peter moved aside, and James was pleased to see that the boggart only transformed into a full moon, which dripped to the floor like a melting scoop of ice cream almost immediately after Remus had pulled out his wand. Taking his place in the front of the line, James watched as the boggart promptly vanished, once again leaving him foolishly standing in front of empty air. Smiling, he just turned and met his roommates' beaming faces; pocketing his wand, James marched past the whispering students and left Professor Alamanzar rubbing his chin thoughtfully in the front of the classroom.

In Potions the next day, James managed to create a passable example of the Jelly-Head Potion, although it unfortunately lacked the smoking film that most of the other students' concoctions had. Professor Slughorn accepted Lily's vial with a beam, but Snape refused to respond when the portly wizard clapped him appreciatively on the shoulder, even stumbling forward a bit as if he had not seen the tremendous hand coming his way.

"I think that he's been spending a little too much time in the library," Sirius told James, snickering as he pointed out the dark bags under Snape's eyes.

Although he snorted in agreement, James also felt worn out by the end of the week, and he began to long for the week's conclusion. Tapping his fingers throughout the entirety of the Herbology exam, he glanced repeatedly at the pink-tinged sky and ignored his Leaping Toadstools until one of them jumped out of its pot. Stuffing it back into place, he smothered its stem with dirt and dragon dung compost to prevent its escape.

"That wraps it up!" Professor Sprout called out to the students, most of whom attempted to make some final changes to the six assorted plants under their care before packing up for the night. "Leave your trowels, earmuffs, and whatever else belongs to the school by your stools!"

"I don't know who would steal these in the first place," Sirius commented, pulling off his pair of fluffy, lime-green earmuffs and throwing them down beside his Mandrake pot. "They could at least come in a better color."

"I thought that they looked rather good on you," Remus told him, quickly ducking to avoid Sirius' swing.

Leading his roommates out onto the grounds, James waved to Hagrid where he was bent over in front of his hut, tending to a patch of oversized watermelons in the dirt. "How are yeh?" Hagrid called out to the boys before turning and lugging a wheelbarrow out from behind his dwelling. Attracted to the lake by the warmth of the setting sun, James, Sirius, and Peter watched the light dwindle as Remus pulled out his Astronomy textbook to go over some last details before the next day's test.

Nearly a quarter of an hour had gone by before the sun had almost completely fallen beyond the horizon, only shedding a small sliver of orange light across the water while Hagrid continued loading and unloading watermelons from his wheelbarrow. Finally, a slight wind caused the boys to draw their robes closer to their chests, and Sirius suggested that they head back into the castle for a warm meal before retiring to the Gryffindor common room. No one had any objections, and James cast one final look back at Hagrid as he trekked towards the castle with his roommates. In the dim light, he could barely make out the individual melons in the monstrous wheelbarrow leaning against the hut, but he saw no trace of Hagrid. Squinting, he stared for a few moments until he spotted the Gamekeeper's giant silhouette come back around from behind the cabin, and James turned back around satisfactorily.

After a moment, however, a guttural cry from behind made him spin around with the others, and Peter let out a gasp as several lean, dark creatures ran out of the Forbidden Forest and leapt onto Hagrid's side. Thrashing, the oversized man threw a fist at one of his assailants, but a few of the larger animals jumped forward and latched onto him with gleaming teeth. Dashing out of the hut, Fang barked threateningly at the mass of writhing muscles and fur, and Hagrid gave one last yell before the dark shapes dragged him underneath the shadow of the Forbidden Forest. Although drastically outnumbered, Fang leapt after his master and engaged in a short tussle with one of the straggling creatures; however, before James could blink, Fang let out a yelp and ran back behind the cabin, his tail hidden between his legs. As the grounds once again quieted to their previous languid state, Hagrid vanished without a trace into the trees, taking all evidence of the struggle with him.

"Hagrid!" James yelled, and he and his roommates quickly rushed down to the abandoned hut. When James reached the wheelbarrow lying on its side, he dodged two watermelons as they fell out of place and grabbed Fang by the scruff of his neck.

"What happened? Where's Hagrid?" he demanded, but the boarhound only whimpered and spun in an agitated circle.

" _Lumos!_ " Remus cried, facing the Forbidden Forest and pulling out his wand. Immediately, the tip ignited with a brilliant flash of white light, and the others peered into the trees.

"He's gone!" Peter cried, aghast.

"I don't see him anywhere!" Sirius exclaimed, turning to James.

"We have to go after him!" James announced, pulling out his own wand.

"We can't just go in there!" Remus objected. "We aren't allowed, and someone has to tell the professors!"

"We can't wait for those things to tear Hagrid apart!" James argued, but he halted for a moment as he considered Remus' words. After a beat, an idea struck him, and he reached into his pocket to pull out his two-way mirror.

"You go back to the castle and tell the professors," he told Sirius, who nodded. "Once you return, contact me so that I can tell you where we are."

"Hurry up and find him!" Sirius told James before turning around. "Come on, Peter!" he commanded, dragging the smaller boy away by his sleeve.

"But what were those things?" Peter protested, jerking back, and Sirius paused long enough to share a glance with James.

"I couldn't see them properly," James replied, but he threw a rapid glance at Remus, who promptly narrowed his eyes. "I know it sounds strange, but they almost looked like . . . well . . ."

Crossing his arms, Remus glowered. "You can't be serious. Not that nonsense about werewolves again."

"I'm only saying that they _looked_ like werewolves," James replied, and Remus threw his hands into the air.

"It could have been a pack of wild dogs, Manticores, or Sphinxes!" he exclaimed, and James opened his mouth to defend himself.

"It doesn't matter, does it?" Sirius interrupted, making both James and Remus turn to him. "Hagrid's in danger, and I don't think that he cares whether he was attacked by a herd of Wampuses or a couple of Puffskeins! He needs our help!"

"You're right," James agreed, pushing away thoughts of argument as he turned to Remus. "I'm going in. Either come with me or go get help."

After glancing at Sirius and Peter, Remus sighed and shook his head. "Someone has to go with you."

"Hurry up!" James told the others, and Sirius and Peter broke into a run towards the distant castle. Leading the way into the Forbidden Forest, James did not slow as Fang growled behind him and slunk in his footsteps. The last thing that James saw as he and Remus disappeared into the gloom was the sun blinking out over the horizon just behind Hagrid's hut, illuminating the cabin in an orange haze for a fraction of a second just before the darkness enveloped them.


	18. The Lost School

**The Lost School**

After only a few minutes of stumbling through the Forbidden Forest, James already had several cuts on his face from running into tree branches and crashing through spiky ferns. Remus was not faring any better, and he panted alongside Fang as they continued through the darkness, only illuminated by the soft gleaming from the two boys' wands. Gradually slowing as the over-sized footprints and other signs of Hagrid's struggle grew harder and harder to discern, James glanced every which way into the trees, listening for the sound of distant cries or thrashing.

"Let's stop here," Remus finally heaved, leaning down and holding his knees while James clutched his hair with one hand. "We can't go on like this. We're lost."

"We can't be!" James exclaimed, turning to gain some sort of sense of direction. Staring at the identical tree trunks, he even wished to know the way back to Hagrid's cabin, but every part of the forest looked the same.

"It's hopeless," Remus said, shaking his head, and Fang nosed his hand with a whimper.

"There's got to be a way!" James objected, but the sudden thundering of hooves from his left cut off his protest. Neither he nor Remus spoke, instead dashing to the nearest tree and pressing their backs against its tremendous trunk while Fang trotted behind.

They all listened silently while the pounding came to a stop only a few meters away. Hardly daring to breathe, James and Remus listened to the swishing of a long tail followed by an impatient stomp of a hoof. Gulping, James thought that he heard the stretching of a bow's string; judging by the sound of heavy breathing, several centaurs stood just beyond sight, and he did not fancy revealing their presence after their last, less-than-friendly meeting.

After a few tense moments, he heard a voice that he recognized as belonging to Magorian speak. "This way!" Immediately, the herd leapt into motion, and James relaxed as their hoof-steps thudded farther and farther away. Finally, he stepped out from behind the tree and looked at Remus.

"I suppose that we could have asked them if they saw Hagrid," Remus noted, although had also let out a long sigh after the centaurs had left.

"Do you think that we should follow them?" James asked, glancing deeper into the forest.

"I'm not sure they're on the same trail as we are," Remus answered. "It sounded like they were hunting something."

"I don't know," James replied. "They might have seen the werewolves dragging Hagrid awa—"

Seeing Remus' sharp glare, he quickly closed his mouth. "For the last time, those weren't werewolves!" Remus exclaimed. "I don't know what you saw that night in the Forbidden Forest, but it wasn't what you think it was!"

"I know what I saw!" James defended, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not mental!"

"It wasn't even the full moon!" Remus added, casting a dark look at the ground. "I think that you would have noticed if it was."

"I'm not saying that it was!" James responded, crossing his arms. "I'm just asking you to believe me!"

"It's completely illogical to suggest that you met a werewolf in the forest and lived!" Remus retorted, glaring at James. "I can't control myself when I transform—a werewolf would have ripped you without hesitation and taken on the rest of us afterwards, not run away!"

"You weren't there: you didn't see it!" James snapped.

"I already told you," Remus argued, "you wouldn't be standing here right now if—"

Suddenly, Remus froze with his mouth half-open, staring at something behind James. Turning around as slowly as his anticipation could bear, James soon spotted the object of Remus' attention—or rather, objects. Several pairs of glowing yellow eyes were peering out of the darkness, flickering in the glow of the boys' lit wands, and James felt his hair prickle as the intruders moved closer. The biggest of the creatures stopped only a few paces away from James, its lean, muscular body covered in thick, gray fur. At once, James recognized it as the animal that had cornered him in the Forbidden Forest, and he took a step back only to stop as a chorus of growls rippled through the trees. He had no doubt that this same pack of wolves had carried Hagrid away just a few minutes before, but the Gamekeeper was nowhere in sight.

Huddling against Remus, James felt his heart stop as the lead wolf slowly stepped forward, eyeing the two of them with an intensity almost intelligent. As it approached, Fang lowered his ears and bared his teeth, growling softly. Turning its head at the noise, the wolf stared him down, and James began to sweat as Fang whimpered and rolled over onto his back. Now the rest of the wolves crawled out of the blackness as their leader paced towards the two boys, disregarding the docile boarhound at his feet.

Clutching his wand, James held his breath and prepared to fight, but the dozens of gleaming teeth discouraged any defensive measures. Feeling the warm breath of the wolf ruffling his robes, he had to suppress to urge to close his eyes as he waited for the animal's sharp claws to dig into his skin. Halting again, the wolf blinked once at James before turning to look at Remus. It stepped forward, and James readied his wand, but something seemed to change in the air; both Remus and the wolf had locked eyes, and the forest grew unnaturally still as neither of them moved. Finally, the wolf slowly leaned forward and pushed its wet nose against Remus' hand. Still not breathing, Remus tried to pull away, but the wolf moved faster than James could blink and caught his wrist in his teeth. Crying out, Remus dropped his wand and tried to jerk away, but the wolf held on firmly.

" _Petrificus Totalus!_ " James cried, aiming his own wand for the animal's head, but two other wolves leapt forward from behind him and jerked him backwards by his robes. His spell shot into the air and blasted a tree branch, and James felt his wand slip out of his hand as a strong jaw wrested it free. Kicking, he struggled to break away, but another wolf pounced onto his leg as the one on his right jerked his arm behind his back with an almost conscious effort. In front of him, the large wolf still had Remus by the wrist, and it bit down harder to stop him from grabbing his fallen wand and defending James.

Almost as one mind, the pack started moving through the woods, the leader jolting Remus forward when he stumbled from the unexpected movement. Although he tried to kick out, James had to give up and move forward at an awkward jog as his captors quickly lugged him along the forest floor. Behind them, Fang slunk forward with his head down, surrounded by a dozen or so of the other animals, none of which paid him any attention.

As the group marched along, James lost all of what little direction sense that remained, moving through the almost completely blackened forest. Without a wand light to guide him, he had to rely on the wolves on either side to safely pull him through the foliage towards their unknown destination. The pack seemed to know exactly where they were going despite the gloom, and James assumed that they had traveled this part of the forest countless times before. Once, a dangling tree branch came out of the darkness just in front of James' nose, but his captors jerked him down before he could react, pulling him out of harm's way as they continued at an uncomfortable speed.

Having expected a long journey, James was surprised when the pack stopped abruptly after only a few short minutes. Breathing heavily, he stiffened as he watched for any sign of aggression, but the wolves merely sniffed the air and looked at their leader. Releasing Remus, the large wolf stepped away and growled softly; immediately, James felt his captors release their holds on him. Backing away, James rubbed his arms and tensed for a fight, but the leader gave a short bark, causing one of the others to step forward and deposit a couple of thin sticks on the ground. Eyes widening, James recognized his and Remus' wands, and he considered lunging for them while he had a chance. Growling again, the leader interrupted his train of thought, and James met its eyes before the creature turned his head and looked pointedly over his shoulder. Then, just as quickly as they had appeared, the wolves sprang forward and sprinted into the forest, leaving the boys in the dark.

Sniffing sheepishly, Fang nosed James as he stooped and collected his wand. " _Lumos,_ " he whispered. At once, the surrounding trees shone in the white glow, and Remus quickly picked up his wand and did the same. Sharing a glance with him, James realized that none of them could explain what had just happened. Finally, Remus spoke, glancing upwards.

"Where are we?"

Looking around, James held his wand high and examined their surroundings; they appeared to have been deposited on the edge of some sort of abandoned city. Underneath the sparse trees, several stone walls rose out of the ground, eaten away by time and covered in moss. As James walked forward to get a better look, a section of the nearest wall crumbled away and fell to the ground with a thud.

"I've never heard of a place like this in the Forbidden Forest," James answered, realizing a moment later that he had been whispering. Clearing his throat, he was about to speak again when he heard a voice coming from inside of his robes.

"James! James!"

Starting, James fumbled for his pockets and pulled out his two-way mirror, seeing Sirius' face reflected against the dark sky on the other end. "I'm here!" James told him while Remus watched over his shoulder.

"We're at the edge of the Forbidden Forest," Sirius narrated, looking up from the mirror at the scenery beyond. "I got the Heads of Houses to follow us down here."

"Hi, James!" a voice called out, and Sirius jostled as Peter bumped aside his shoulder and waved into the mirror. Waiting for the view to steady, James heard a sharp voice in the background.

"Is that Potter?" McGonagall asked, and James spotted a flash of her pointed hat in the corner of the mirror. "Is Mr. Lupin there as well?"

"I'm here," Remus answered none too eagerly.

"Do you realize how dangerous it is to wander into the forest by yourselves?" Professor Flitwick's high-pitched voice squeaked. "You could have been killed!"

"Should we call for the others?" a muffled voice asked in the background, and James guessed that it belonged to Professor Sprout. "We might need more assistance."

"I'd be more than happy to go find them!" the booming voice of Professor Slughorn volunteered, and James briefly spotted a flash of his golden mustache behind Sirius.

Turning around with a grimace, Sirius accused, "Are you trying to get out of entering the Forbidden Forest yourself?"

Gulping, Slughorn twiddled his thumbs. "I believe that my services are best offered . . . elsewhere."

"Make sure to alert Albus as well," Flitwick added to Slughorn, clearly not wanting to waste time arguing. "If Hagrid has indeed been captured, I hate to think what we might be facing in the forest. There's hardly a creature alive that he can't handle."

"What about the students?" Slughorn inquired in what he must have thought was a subtle manner. "Who's going to stay and watch over them? Surely someone needs to stay behind!"

"Then tell Argus to put the castle on lockdown!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "If you must, stay behind with him to make sure that the students stay put, just in case the creatures return."

"Will do, Minerva!" Slughorn agreed, breaking into a grin. "I'll have Dumbledore here in a jiffy!" Turning, his cloaked form bustled back towards the castle.

"Have you found Hagrid?" Sirius asked James and Remus, turning back to the mirror.

"No," James replied, unsure of how much he should tell. "I think that we're close, though."

"Where are you?" Peter inquired.

"It looks like we're near some old castle ruins," Remus told him. "There's a bunch of stone walls and broken doorways."

"Ruins?" Professor McGonagall asked, addressing someone on the other end. "Do you suppose that he means the west end of the forest?"

"I don't know of any other place he could be describing," Professor Sprout answered.

"Have you been here before?" James questioned, tilting his head.

"I've never been there myself," Sprout replied, "but I've heard Hagrid mention it a few times."

"I know the way," McGonagall spoke, and James saw both Sirius and Peter start.

"You do?" Sirius gasped.

"I know more than a few secrets these grounds hold, young man," she told him sternly before addressing the rest of the party. "We'll wait for the others and enter the forest as soon as we can. As for you two," she said, appearing in the mirror's surface to glare at James and Remus, "do not, I repeat, _do not_ leave the ruins. Try to find Hagrid if you can, but I don't want you getting lost." Nodding, James and Remus watched as she pointed at Sirius and Peter. "Come with me, both of you."

"We'll see you soon, mate," Sirius told James before removing his face from the mirror's surface. When all James could see was the black interior of Sirius' pocket, he put away his own mirror and turned to Remus.

"Let's look for Hagrid," he said, turning towards the ruins.

"All right, but let's not go too far," Remus requested, following him underneath a worn archway into the thick of the maze.

For the next few minutes, they wound through the complicated path of stone walls with Fang guarding the rear, sniffing the air for his master. Impressed by the intricacy of the old site, James wondered if the original architecture had consisted of several structures or just one large building. Ducking under abandoned doorway after abandoned doorway, he first passed one stone pillar and then another, sometimes finding dozens of them in a row as if they had once supported a vast entryway. Eyeing the handiwork, he brushed his hand against a faded carving in a nearby wall, the long indentation resembling something like a winding snake.

"What do you think this place was used for?" James whispered, leaning towards Remus. "It almost looks like a miniature Hogwarts."

Frowning, Remus glanced up at the dark treetops and watched a spider crawl into a dark corner where a ceiling used to be. "Whatever this place used it be, I don't think it was anything good."

"Oh, stop being so paranoid," James joked, attempting to lighten the mood.

"I don't like the look of this place," Remus commented, stopping. "I think that we should go back and wait for the others."

"Don't be like that," James insisted. "Hagrid might need our help! He's close, I can feel it!"

Although clearly unwilling to go on, Remus allowed himself to be led further into the labyrinth, glancing over his shoulder whenever the wind whistled through the rocks. As they went on, James noticed that the walls grew more consolidated and better kept, and he suspected that they were reaching the center of the ruins. Holding his wand light low, he tiptoed over a couple of displaced boulders and held his hand out for Remus as he climbed over as well. Observing the mold in between the moist cracks on a nearby wall, James did not watch his footing as his toe hit a stray stone and caused it to roll down a sloping slab of rock, its loud plunking echoing across the ruins. Despite his projected confidence, James felt his heart pounding as the noise died down and quiet once again returned. However, when the echoes subsided, he heard a new sound coming from just behind the thick stone wall next to them. Freezing, he and Remus listened to the shuffling of feet and the thick swish of robes.

"Wilkes, is that you?" a deep voice called out of the darkness. Looking at each other, James and Remus did not make a sound. After a pause, the hidden speaker took another few steps forward.

" _Nox!_ " James and Remus whispered in unison, dousing the light from their wands.

"Is someone there?" the voice called again, louder this time. Backing away, the two boys tried to keep as much distance between them and the speaker as possible as he began walking their way again. Around the corner of the wall, James spotted a bobbing light begin to break away the darkness, and he and Remus turned and sprinted away just as a figure came into view.

"Hey!" the man called again, holding up his lantern and chasing after them. "Stop where you are!"

Not daring to look back, James narrowly avoided tripping over Fang as a spell crashed into a stone slab in front of him. From behind, their pursuer tripped over something and let out a curse.

"Cray! Letterman! Someone's over here!" the man yelled as the boys continued to run.

Crashing blindly through the ruins as sounds of more pounding feet reached their ears, James and Remus did not look back as several more yells echoed around the stone walls. On they ran, gasping for air as they ignored their burning legs, making no attempt to keep quiet. Each time a spell shot after them, James simply ducked and prayed that their surroundings would protect them from getting hit, a plan that proved at least momentarily successful. Reaching a pillar that had fallen onto its side, he vaulted over the top while Remus slid underneath, both of them dashing out at the other end. Slowing down for a moment, James turned back towards Fang, who had stopped and was trying to climb over the slippery surface of the column.

"Fang, come on!" James yelled, and the boarhound took another leap and clawed at the pillar. Feeling his heart skip a beat, James watched as three running figures rounded the distant corner, the swinging lantern throwing their shadows violently against the scattered walls.

" _Stupefy!_ " one of the runners shouted, and a jet of red light blasted Fang into the air, slamming his head against the pillar.

"No!" James exclaimed as Fang fell limply to the ground. Both he and Remus pulled out their wands and faced their pursuers.

" _Expelliarmus!_ " they shouted, and two of the men dove to the side as the spells approached. The other wizard, however, kept charging forward and simply flicked his wand as the jets of light neared him, blocking them with a Shield Charm. Backing away, the two boys turned to run again, but two thin tendrils suddenly wrapped around James' feet and hands, causing him to fall forward and release his wand. He tried to call out to Remus, but a rope forced its way in between his teeth and cut off his cry.

" _Incarcerous!_ " the wizard who had bound him yelled, and Remus, now several meters away, also fell over as several ropes twisted around his body and tightened. Again, the man flicked his wand, and Remus flew towards his waiting grip while his companions caught up.

"What are you brats doing around here?" the man holding Remus asked, eyeing him in the light of the lantern and wresting away his wand, which Remus had miraculously managed to hold onto. "I've never seen you around here before!"

"They're not two of the students?" one of the others asked, a squat man with a large belly. He panted slightly and brushed himself off as he approached, bending quickly to scoop up James' abandoned wand.

"Oh, they're students, all right, Letterman!" the first wizard answered. "Leastways, they're both from Hogwarts. But one would question why they were running away, now wouldn't he?" he growled, lifting Remus up to his face accusingly.

"Maybe they're new," Letterman stated simply, shrugging.

"We haven't had any new ones for months," the wizard holding the lantern said, giving him a sideways glance

"I don't trust the looks of them," the one holding Remus spat, giving him a shake by the collar of his robes.

"All I'm saying, Cray, is that we should bring them back to the meeting house," Letterman explained, raising his hands. "We can ask the others if they know them."

"You've always been too cautious," Cray scoffed, but he lifted Remus over his shoulder and tossed his captive's wand at Letterman, who caught it. "Come on, Whorst."

" _Mobilicorpus!_ " Whorst said, pointing his wand at James; lifting into the air head-first, James hovered a short distance from the ground, his legs hanging limply underneath him. Knowing that it would be useless to struggle without his wand, James allowed himself to be transported back in the direction they had come from. As he floated over the fallen pillar, he glanced briefly down at Fang's motionless body, trying not to imagine the worst.

Leading the way through the ruins, Cray lit his wand to add to the glow of Whorst's lantern. Striding strongly, he stood at least two heads above the puffing form of Letterman, and he toted Remus as easily as if he was carrying a sack of Snargaluff pods. Taking a sharp turn into a rotted doorway, Cray kept walking until a circle of dim lights began to shimmer in the distance, marking the presence of a few scattered torches around a central campfire. Feeling a bead of sweat creep down his hairline, James took in the dozens of faces flickering in the firelight around the clearing, and he spotted several more wizards and witches stationed at odd intervals around a large body of seated spectators. Realizing that escape was nearing impossibility with every passing moment, James felt his stomach drop at the same instant that Whorst released his spell and sent him crashing to the ground.

"What's the problem?" a tweedy witch with bushy, close-set eyebrows asked as Cray deposited Remus on the ground with a thud.

"These two were caught sneaking around the school," Cray answered. "We wanted to know if you recognize them."

Stepping over the two captives, the dark-featured witch looked them over as they struggled to sitting positions. "Can't say I do," she replied, but she turned to the seated group and raised her arms. "Students? Did any of you invite them?"

James felt the weight of every pair of eyes in the clearing turn to him, and he stared back at the glowing eyes in turn. In the wavering light, he could not make out the individual faces, but someone seemed to recognize him as a hand raised out of the crowd.

"Avery?" the witch standing over him asked, and James felt his heart skip a beat. Whipping his head back towards the sitting throng, James picked out the pointed face of Conway Avery, a Slytherin student in his same year. Gasping around the thick rope between his teeth, he recognized the two people on either side of him as Nigel Mulciber and Severus Snape. Although Snape offered no sign of recognition, James could feel the waves of hatred from his gaze heating his skin almost as hotly as the nearby fire.

"They're in my year, Professor Flint," Avery told the bushy-browed witch, turning a sickly smile towards James and Remus. "They're not with us."

"Are you certain?" Flint asked, her dubious voice almost reminiscent of McGonagall's. To the left, another person stepped out of the shadows, and James inhaled sharply as he recognized the long, blonde hair and slit-like eyes of Lucius Malfoy.

"I can testify to what he says," he drawled, throwing a short glance at James and Remus. "I've had . . . dealings with them in the past."

"I told you that we should have dealt with them as soon as they were caught!" Cray reprimanded Letterman while a murmur arose from the spectators. Now that James' eyes had adjusted to the light, he saw with surprise that most of the people in the clearing were no more than a few years older than he was, many of them with Hogwarts robes protecting them from the chilly night air. Most of the students were Slytherins, but he recognized a few odd Ravenclaws scattered throughout the crowd.

"Were they with anyone else?" Flint asked Cray, Whorst, and Letterman, speaking above the growing hubbub.

"Just a dog, miss," Whorst answered as the whispers hushed. "We didn't see anyone else."

"Must have been the Gamekeeper's mongrel pet," Malfoy guessed, arms crossed.

"The Gamekeeper? Is he here?" Flint demanded. When Cray and Whorst only shared a glance, Flint drew her wand and pointed it at James and Remus. " _Evanesco!_ " For the first time in a quarter of an hour, James was able to lick his parched lips as the rope between his teeth disappeared. Still aiming her wand at him, Flint demanded, "Did you bring anyone else with you?"

"No!" James replied a little too quickly. Narrowing her eyes, Flint scowled at him as he insisted, "We came alone!"

"How did you find us?" Flint interrogated.

"We followed some students on their way here," James told her, nodding at the listening spectators. "We knew that you were meeting here, and—"

"Who told you about the school?" Flint interrupted harshly.

Sweating profusely now, James quickly conjured a story. "We heard rumors in Hogwarts about the meetings, and we wanted to join you! Right, Remus?" he added, nudging his friend.

"Er, right!" Remus added, looking just as surprised as the others in the clearing did. "We've heard a lot about this place, and we wanted to see it for ourselves!"

"We've been trying to find it for months," James continued, "but we never made it this far into the Forbidden Forest with no one to show us the way. We couldn't talk about it in Hogwarts, because we were frightened that the wrong person would overhear. It was only tonight when we finally followed a couple of students on their way in." Nodding at Snape and Mulciber, he tried to wave his hand, but his bonds restricted him. "See? They're right over there!"

Starting, the two Slytherins shared a glance. Raising an eyebrow, Malfoy curled his lip at James and Remus while Cray and Whorst eyed them from behind. A slight shuffling of movement sounded from the crowd of sitting students, and Snape looked as if he was about to stand up and object.

"It took us hours to get here!" James went on loudly, trying his best to sound sincere. "We fell behind and got lost, and we started to think that we'd never make it."

After several seconds of agonizing silence, James watched as Flint spread out her hands, a small smirk twisting her mouth. "Well, welcome to Hydrax Academy of Advanced Arts!"

Several of the students snickered as James and Remus looked at one another, still unable to stand up due to the ropes tied around their wrists and ankles. "That's what this place is called?" James asked.

"Didn't you say that you knew about the school?" Flint asked dryly, folding her arms.

"We never heard the name," James replied quickly, glancing around the clearing at the bracketed torches and other embellishments. "So, you've been meeting for months now, is that correct?"

"The entirety of the school year, actually," Flint answered.

"You've been meeting since September?" Remus asked, his mouth falling open.

"Indeed, but Hydrax began long before you and I were born," Flint told him, beginning to pace around the two prisoners. "Slytherin's great founder himself had the vision to recreate a new school where his former compatriots failed so miserably. Hydrax was meant to be the better version of Hogwarts, untainted by impure blood."

"Do you mean Salazar Slytherin?" James clarified. "Then he really did start another school when he left Hogwarts?"

"Not exactly," Flint replied. "You see, his work for a new educational system died with him years ago. His dream, however, was passed on to his descendants, and we were finally able to make his goal a reality in the very site that he chose for Hydrax." She motioned to the crumbling walls. "As you can see, the centuries have not been kind to the school, but that has not stopped us from educating our youth, so unfairly deprived of sophisticated learning."

"So, what sort of things do you teach here?" James inquired.

"Curses far more complicated than you could imagine at your level," Flint told him. "Of course, we also offer whatever theories and history that Hogwarts may have brushed over, according to the orders of the Dark Lord. The teaching of our pureblood legacy has certainly deteriorated during the past few years."

"Wait, you're working for Lord Volde—" Breaking off, James corrected himself as he heard the collective gasp around the clearing. "I mean, the Dark Lord—he's the one who restored Hydrax Academy? You're all Death Eaters?"

Narrowing her eyes, Flint stared at him as the students began to murmur. "Such brazenness . . . You _did_ come to learn the Dark Arts, didn't you?"

"Yes!" James and Remus answered in unison, nodding fervently. "Of course!"

"Professor Flint, if I may," Malfoy interjected, stepping forward, "I suggest that we do a search to make sure that they're telling the truth."

"I agree," Flint said, crossing her arms as she glared at James and Remus. "Let's provide a demonstration of our abilities for the new recruits, shall we?" Turning to the students gathered around the fire, she raised her wand high. "As you all know, our great founder Salazar Slytherin was an accomplished Legilimens, a trait that he passed on to many of his descendants. For you newer students, this will be your first glimpse of how a true master can delve into the mind of another."

"Wait, do you mean mind-reading?" James exclaimed as the crowd began to buzz, several of the students laughing as he and Remus began to struggle.

"I wouldn't describe it so crudely, you simple-minded fool," Malfoy spat in their direction. "It's a far more complex art than that. The mind is an intricate web of patterns and ideas, hardly something to be read like a book."

His eyes locked on Flint, Remus fought his bonds and yelped, "Is this even legal?"

"I'll start with this one," Flint announced, and James barely had time to react as she turned and lowered her wand directly at his forehead. " _Legilimens!_ "

Immediately, the scene in front of James disappeared, replaced with an image of Hagrid waving beside his hut. Time seemed to speed forward, and the sky darkened as the pack of wolves descended upon Hagrid, dragging him into the forest . . . James saw Sirius reflected in the surface of his mirror . . . He was sneaking through the ruins behind Remus . . . He felt fear when Whorst rounded the corner and sadness when he saw Fang lying lifelessly on the ground . . .

Head snapping upright, James gasped for breath as Flint came back into view, her rigid form focusing through his glasses. Slowly, she lowered her pointed wand.

"Lies," she hissed softly, and the clearing burst into uproar. Several of the watching students bolted to their feet, Snape, Avery, and Mulciber included.

"Throw them out!" Mulciber shouted, and countless other voices yelled their approval.

"Don't let them leave!" another Slytherin protested, and everyone dissolved into heated argument.

"SILENCE, ALL OF YOU!" Flint finally yelled, and she shot an invisible spell over the students, which seemed to forcibly quiet them. "You know the rules: they cannot leave once they've found us! If they will not comply, we'll make them forget they ever saw this place!"

A muffled cheer rose up from the crowd, somewhat suppressed by the lingering effects of the spell. Turning to James and Remus with a rabid glare, Flint beckoned at someone standing to the side.

"Alamanzar, come here!"

Revolving their heads, James and Remus turned towards the familiar squat form of their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor as he walked into the light of the fire, lowering his head as they stared open-mouthed. Approaching Flint, he did not meet his students' eyes as he bowed. "Yes?"

"You're the most skilled in practical charms and spells," she told him. "I want you to take them into the forest and cast a Memory Charm on them. Make them forget that they ever found this place, as well as any information that they may have learned about Hydrax. Cray will go with you."

Nodding with his head down, Professor Alamanzar waited while Cray vanished the ropes binding James' and Remus' feet and yanked them upright. While the students yelled various obscenities and taunts at the two Gryffindors, Cray gave them a forceful shove and sent them stumbling towards the edge of the clearing, where Alamanzar stood waiting. At the sight of the professor's drawn wand, James suddenly reached a decision and planted his feet into the grass; unprepared for his resistance, Cray bumped into him from behind as Professor Alamanzar finally looked up and met his eyes.

"But—but why?" James stammered, staring up at him. "They're Death Eaters! They want to rule over the Muggles, and they'll stomp over anyone who disagrees with them!"

Lowering his head, Alamanzar lifted his hands and addressed him in his soft-spoken voice. "When I came into your country, I learned about the Dark Lord for the first time. I read how your Minister complained against his supporters, but their protests never seemed to do any harm. So I grew indifferent to their activity." Shaking his head, he corrected, "Well, not quite indifferent. I began to grow curious, but I did not know how to express my thoughts until young Lucius came to speak with me about Hydrax. After his visit, I realized that the Dark Lord was right after all." Gesturing, Alamanzar slowly drew himself up as he broke into a smile. "We are the ones granted with magic; it is for the best if we rule over the Muggles! Do you not hear of the barbaric things that they do to each other during times of war? We can stop all of that! Isn't that what you want?"

Open-mouthed, James just shook his head. "The Death Eaters don't care who they hurt to get their way! Wars are only going to get worse if wizards start lording over Muggles in the name of peace! If Voldemort had his way, he—"

"WE DO NOT USE THE DARK LORD'S NAME, INSOLENT BOY!" Cray shouted, clouting James on the ear as the others in the clearing yelled.

"DO IT NOW!" Flint screamed at Alamanzar, who once again averted his eyes from James and Remus.

"I am truly sorry," he told them above the din, raising his wand. "Please understand: it is for your own good."

Just as Alamanzar opened his mouth to recite the incantation, a disturbance erupted from behind the heads of the standing students, and several yells burst from the back of the crowd. Looking to the side, Alamanzar let his wand drop as Dumbledore burst into the clearing, backed closely by McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, and several other members of the Hogwarts staff. Just behind Dumbledore stood Sirius and Peter, wands out as they scanned their surroundings. The Headmaster's beard had flown out of place from his sudden entrance, but he exuded an impressive amount of calm for having just found a dozen or more assorted Death Eaters in the middle of the Forbidden Forest.

"That will be quite enough," Dumbledore announced to Flint shortly, and he sent a jet of purple light shooting out of his wand.

Hit squarely in the chest, Flint slammed against the wall behind her and slumped to the ground, much like Fang had half an hour before. Immediately, the clearing burst into disorder as Death Eaters and students alike began running to and fro; most of them scrambled towards the woods, but a few of the Death Eaters started shooting curses back at Dumbledore and the other professors.

Ducking under a ricocheting hex, James ran toward Flint's still body and pried her wand out of her grasp. Turning to Remus, he aimed for the ropes tied around his wrists. " _Diffindo!_ " The ropes fell away, and Remus quickly took the wand and performed the Severing Charm on James' bindings.

"Our wands!" James said, but Remus was already pointing Flint's wand at Letterman. The portly wizard was busy trying to push aside a fourth-year, and he did not see the danger behind him.

" _Petrificus Totalus!_ "

Freezing mid-shove, Letterman fell forward onto the grass and did not move while James and Remus retrieved their wands from his robes' pocket. Jumping up, James glanced around the chaotic clearing, searching for a chance to join in the action. A little to the left, Dumbledore and McGonagall were shooting spells with their backs against each other, each seeming to read the other's thoughts as they took down Death Eater after Death Eater. Professor Sprout seemed more concerned with stopping the fleeing students than fighting the Death Eaters, and Flitwick barely had to duck as Sprout froze several of the students with just one flick of her wand. Jumping over a fallen wizard, Sirius sent two Stunning Spells at Snape and Mulciber, who rocketed forward with the force of the blasts.

"Quick! To the Portkeys!" Cray shouted over the commotion. All around, the scattered Death Eaters began sprinting towards the trees, and James spotted Malfoy grab Professor Alamanzar's arm and run off to safety after sending one last spell into the fray.

"Quick! Professor Alamanzar!" James told Remus, and they both dashed after him through the ruins.

Leaping after the retreating Death Eaters, they kept their eyes on their quarry through the ruins ahead. A collision with another student nearly made James fall onto his side, but he managed to keep running towards Alamanzar and Malfoy as they neared the line of trees. Gaining speed, he did not have time to react as two Death Eaters suddenly jumped out from behind a massive slab of stone, pointing their wands at him and Remus.

"AUGGHH!" A mighty roar sounded from behind a nearby wall, and Hagrid's hulking form came into view as he toppled an avalanche of stones on top of the Death Eaters.

"Thanks!" James shouted as he and Remus rushed by.

"Take care, will yeh?" Hagrid called back, and he waved before turning around to pick up a fleeing Slytherin by the neck of his robes.

Feet thudding, James panted for breath as he broke into the forest behind Alamanzar and Malfoy, who both stopped near the base of a large tree. Turning, Alamanzar locked eyes with James as Malfoy brushed away a patch of ferns from a brass watch and chain.

"Now!" Malfoy shouted to draw Alamanzar's attention, and they both reached down and grabbed the watch.

"No!" James shouted, but the two had already vanished along with the Portkey. Slowing to a halt, James stared at the empty forest floor while dozens of other Death Eaters grabbed nearby objects and disappeared into thin air, abandoning the students running haphazardly about.

"James!" Remus called, shaking giving his friend a shake. "James, they're gone! Wake up!" Blinking, James took a step back as Sirius and Peter came running out of the ruins.

"James! Remus!" Sirius called, skidding to a halt beside them and grinning. "Did you see that? I knocked out that skinny one with the lantern back there with a Stunning Spell! Flitwick and Sprout are gathering up the Slytherins now."

"I helped, too!" Peter interjected. "I . . . well, I mean . . ."

"He mostly just avoided spells and cheered us on," Sirius finished for him.

Turning towards them, James asked, "Did you catch everything that the Death Eaters said?"

"Every word!" Sirius answered, holding up his mirror and winking.

"Then you know about Professor Alamanzar?" James mumbled, kicking at the grass..

"Yeah," Sirius replied, his smile quickly dimming as he stared at the ground. "Did he get to one of the Portkeys?"

Nodding, James heard the stomping of two massive feet, and he turned to welcome the approach of Hagrid from behind. "Are yeh all right?" Hagrid asked the four roommates, and they nodded as the giant man wiped his forehead. "How did yeh find your way here?"

"We should be asking the same of you!" Sirius replied. "The last time we saw you, you were being dragged away by a pack of wild animals!"

Starting, Hagrid gasped, "How did yeh know about the wolves?"

"The wolves?" Peter squeaked, and James threw Remus a wry smile before addressing Hagrid.

"We saw them taking you into the forest," he explained. "Remus and I followed you, and they brought us to the ruins."

"None too gently, either," Remus added with a huff, rubbing his arm where the wolf had grabbed him.

Beaming, Hagrid exclaimed, "Ah, so they were lookin' out fer yeh, then! They wanted ter make sure tha' yeh didn't get lost!" When James and Remus just stared at him, he flushed. "They're gentle creatures at 'eart, really: they wouldn't hurt anyone if they didn't deserve it."

"But they're werewolves, aren't they?" Peter asked, disregarding Remus' glower as he stared up at Hagrid.

Scratching the back of his neck, Hagrid glanced around and lowered his voice. "No, they aren't werewolves. The truth be told, there aren't any werewolves in the forest at all. We jus' like ter keep the students guessin' so tha' they don't end up wanderin' off the grounds. The animals tha' you saw were actually the cubs of two werewolves that mated durin' the full moon. It's a rare coincidence fer two werewolves ter be in the same place when they transform, as yeh might imagine. Headmaster Dumbledore decided ter let the pups live in peace here, where they could be themselves without anyone killin' them off."

"And it never crossed your mind that the pups might still have the violent tendencies of their parents?" Remus scoffed, shaking his head.

"Well, they might 'ave a liberal view of rough play," Hagrid admitted, but he quickly recovered. "They're wise creatures, actually. All they were tryin' ter do was show yeh where the Death Eaters were meetin', like they did fer me. I managed ter avoid capture until the professors came and tore up the place. Poor Fang, though; he mus' be worried sick, the big coward."

Sharing a glance with Remus, James spoke, "Oh . . . actually, he came with us."

"'E did?" Hagrid asked, brightening. "There's a good boy! I always knew tha' he had it in 'im! Where is 'e?"

"He got hit with a Stunning Spell," James answered, and Hagrid's grin instantly dropped. "He wasn't moving when we left him."

"Not Fang!" Hagrid gasped. "Where is 'e? Can yeh take me ter him?"

"Follow me!" James agreed, and he turned and ran back through the ruins, passing Professor Sprout as she gathered the apprehended students into a queue. After a minute or so, James spotted the fallen column where they had left Fang and pointed it out to Hagrid, who let out a cry and fell at his dog's side.

"No, Fang, get up!" Hagrid wept, shaking the boarhound. Fang, normally an intimidating dog, looked thin and frail next to his master, and James stood by silently by with his roommates as Hagrid bent down to listen for a heartbeat. After a few seconds, the Gamekeeper lifted his head.

"He's alive!" he announced, and James felt a wave a relief wash over him. Scooping Fang into his arms, Hagrid pushed off of the ground and stood at his full height. "Move out of the way!" he commanded, brushing past Sirius and Peter. "He needs ter see Madam Pomfrey!"

Pulling back, the others allowed Hagrid to rush into the center of the fire-lit clearing, where he interrupted Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey from their examination of the fallen Death Eaters. Finally, Peter spoke.

"Shouldn't we help?" he asked, motioning towards Professor McGonagall where she was directing the scowling Avery into the growing queue of students. Nodding, James and the others walked back towards the clearing, hoping to return some sense of order back into the night.


	19. Dumbledore's Reward

**Dumbledore's Reward**

"They were about to wipe your memories when the professors came?"

Staring at James with wide eyes, Alice, Hillary, Elizabeth, Frank, Dill, Frederick, Arnold, Morgan, King, Michael, Raul, Joseph, Jorkins, Katherine, Rachel, Mary, and several other young Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws listened intently for his answer. For the past twenty minutes, they had been drilling him about the events in the Forbidden Forest the night before, leaning in with bated breath as they waited for Dumbledore to announce the start of the end-of-term feast. This was the third time James had gone over the story that day, not counting how often he had to start over due to late arrivals; by now, he reckoned that the whole school knew about the episode in the forest. A short distance down the Gryffindor table, Lily tapped her fingers on the wood as she looked in the other direction, but she tilted her head closer as the others waited for James to respond.

"Yeah, they were just about to take us out into the forest when Dumbledore appeared!" James answered Frank. "Once the Death Eaters were distracted, I grabbed the nearest one's wand and fought him back with at least five others. They didn't have a chance when I summoned a wardrobe to fall on top of them."

At this, a few of the listening students gasped in admiration. Seated next to Sirius and Peter, Remus lifted his eyes to the ceiling. "Actually, it wasn't quite like tha—"

"Did you capture the witch who used Legilimency on you?" Jorkins interjected, cutting him off.

"Yep!" James replied, nodding. "Dumbledore took care of her."

"Don't forget the one I got!" Sirius added. "Dumbledore's locking all the Death Eaters away for good!"

"Where are they sending them?" Frank asked.

"Eh, some wizard prison," Sirius brushed off, clearly uninterested in the details.

"What about the big one?" Dill demanded. "Was he captured, too?"

"You mean Cray?" James clarified. "No, he got away. So did Malfoy and most of the others."

As he spoke, James glanced over his shoulder at the Slytherin table, where Narcissa Black sat sobbing into a handkerchief while another girl rubbed her back. The thin-faced seventh-year had not taken to her boyfriend's disappearance well, and she had spent nearly the whole day crying.

"I still can't believe that Malfoy joined the Death Eaters," Morgan said, sitting back. "He's always been a bit of a prat, sure, but I never thought he would go that far."

"I guess that all of the students who knew about Hydrax started spreading the word since the first day at Hogwarts," Frederick guessed.

"Probably," James added. "That's why the Slytherins seemed really tired all year: they were losing sleep over their nightly classes."

"Actually, Professor Alamanzar is the one that's bothering me," Arnold said, shaking his head. "I still can't picture someone that smart joining the Dark Lord."

"Me neither," James agreed, suddenly quiet. When the others all drifted into silence, Remus cleared his throat and turned to Sirius and Peter.

"You never told us your part of the story. How did you get the professors to the Forbidden Forest?"

"Oh, right," Sirius said, brightening. "Well, Professor Sprout was still hanging around the greenhouses when we ran back to the castle. We told her about Hagrid, and she nearly exploded when she found out that you had gone after him."

"I thought that she was going to use the Bat-Bogey Hex on us before she sent for the other Heads of Houses," Peter agreed. "She was really scary."

"It took several more minutes of explaining so that McGonagall and Flitwick wouldn't chop us to bits," Sirius continued. "That's why it took so long for us to contact you. After that, Dumbledore came, and Professor McGonagall led the way to the ruins. You know the rest."

"I can't believe that I missed all of this!" Frank exclaimed, banging his fist against the table while several of the others murmured their agreement.

"I'm just glad that the professors made it in time and nobody got hurt," Alice announced before the others' excited voices drowned out her words.

Leaning closer to James so that he could whisper without being overheard by the chatting students, Sirius said, "You still haven't told me how you found the ruins."

Throwing a glance at Remus where he sat listening to the others' arguments, James lowered his voice as he responded. "Well, the wolves must have taken Hagrid to the ruins and made it back in time to find us. We were surrounded, and I thought that they were going to tear us to shreds." As Sirius waited, he just shrugged. "In the end, they just grabbed us and dragged us to the ruins."

"Do you really think that they would have attacked you?" Sirius questioned.

"I don't know," James answered slowly. "I did for a moment, but then something seemed to change when they saw Remus." Trailing off, he glanced at Remus again. "I guess that they must have recognized him as one of their own."

Nodding, Sirius stared down at the table as the others continued to argue. After a moment, however, James turned to him again. "Remember when the Minister visited?" When Sirius nodded, he said, "Well, she was right about Lord Voldemort infiltrating Hogwarts, so it looks like Remus was wrong after all. Whether Dumbledore planned it or not, he's got to start training the school for war. If the Death Eaters have already begun, then so should we!"

Sirius sat up and smiled at James' words, a spark alighting in his eyes just as King broke up a rising fight between two Ravenclaws. "It's nothing that we could have prepared for," the dark fifth-year calmed, pushing the two students away from each other. "No one knew about the meetings, and the members weren't about to let their secret slip."

"Well, I'm not surprised in the least!" Jorkins exclaimed. "I knew that something fishy was going on as soon as I walked into the castle this year!"

"Oh, really?" Dill asked, drumming his fingers on the table, and Jorkins mistook his question for a sign of interest.

"Something about the way Professor Alamanzar looked at me told me that he was up to no good!" she explained.

"Are you sure it wasn't just because you were failing his class?" Morgan asked under her breath, but Jorkins overheard and turned on her.

"He knew that I was onto him!" she insisted, but she quickly switched gears. "You know, I heard from Tulip Waters that the Slytherins lost over 300 House points last night."

"Really?" James asked, straightening. Although eager to believe her, he knew better than to trust her without evidence.

"It must be true," Hillary agreed, and everyone turned to her. "I passed the hourglasses in the Entrance Hall today, and Slytherin's was nearly empty."

"Wait, if they just lost 300 points, where does that put us?" Sirius asked, leaning forward.

Hillary opened her mouth to reply, but a murmur suddenly wafted across the Great Hall as the double doors opened, making further conversation impossible. Everyone scurried back to their House tables as Slughorn and Flitwick stepped into the room, leading a glum line of Slytherins and Ravenclaws found in the Forbidden Forest the previous night. All of the students had their heads down to avoid the hundreds of pairs of staring eyes, and several of them rubbed sore spots on their arms; Filch had spent the entire day overseeing their work while they scrubbed out the lower levels of the dungeon.

When they approached the Slytherin table, Avery and Mulciber took their places next to Wilkes, where he was already seated with a handful of other students. Gritting his teeth, James glared in their direction; thanks to Whorst's exclamation last night, he was certain that Wilkes had attended Hydrax as well, but he had unfortunately not been found with the other students.

"He should be getting it with them," James hissed to his roommates, nodding at Wilkes.

Sneering, Sirius nodded. "It would be far simpler to punish all of the Slytherins at once."

Leaning over, Peter pointed towards the end of the Slytherin table, where Regulus sat watching his Housemates' procession. "Do you think that he ever went into the Forbidden Forest?"

Starting, Sirius blinked a few times as he stared at his brother. Concerned, James, Remus, and Peter studied their friend while he frowned.

"Blimey . . . I don't know," Sirius finally answered. "For all we know, he might have."

"We didn't see him in the Forbidden Forest," Remus consoled. "There's no reason to believe that he ever joined them."

Shaking his head, Sirius glanced down at the table. "I wouldn't put it past him," he muttered, sliding his crossed arms onto the table.

As silence returned, James looked back at the Slytherin table, glancing over Narcissa as she blew into her handkerchief and instead locking eyes with Snape, who had just sat down next to Mulciber. Glaring back at him, the greasy-haired boy curled his lip and turned his head away to stare at the opposite end of the room. Not taking his eyes off of him, James felt the heat rise in his cheeks as he remembered how Snape had sat by while the Death Eaters nearly erased his and Remus' memories. Snape had not displayed any sign of remorse during the previous night's events, and although James knew that the Slytherin had never got along with him or his friends, he could not help but clench his fists at his complete lack of sympathy.

Another murmur eventually broke through James' thoughts, and he turned towards the High Table as Dumbledore stood and approached the podium to address the students. To James' pleasure, he glimpsed Professor Slughorn cross his arms and glower as he took his seat at the end of the table, apparently displeased by his House's fall from grace so late in the school year. Reaching the podium, Dumbledore raised his arms for attention, and he received it immediately.

"Congratulations on reaching the end of the school year without the loss of your sanity or any major limbs," Dumbledore began with a beam. "Now, I am sure that you all have plans for the evening, so I will keep these announcements as brief as possible. As many of you have undoubtedly heard, last night provided a few unfortunate surprises, and the staff members and I have spent most of today dealing with the aftermath of those events. Thankfully, most of the . . . _difficulties_ have been taken care of," he said, and James thought back to the captured Death Eaters. "Although the most important thing is that Hogwarts is secure once again, I have yet to give out recognition to a few students and their hot-headed, foolish, and ultimately heroic actions."

Sitting up, James watched as Dumbledore gestured to the enchanted ceiling, completely devoid of decorations aside from the floating candles. "According to the Houses' previous standings, Slytherin and Ravenclaw should have been in close competition for the House Cup. However, last night warranted a sudden drop in their statuses, leaving Gryffindor and Hufflepuff in the lead. Still, before I reveal the final count, I must make some last-minute changes. Four young students displayed an unusual amount of pluck and quick-thinking last night, which very well may have saved Hogwarts."

Keeping his eyes locked on the Headmaster, James felt his heart begin to race as Dumbledore extended a hand towards the Gryffindor table. "To bravery which ended up revealing a black plot in the midst of the school, I award James Potter and Remus Lupin 50 points each."

Instantly, the room burst into applause, and James felt several arms thudding him on his back as a grin as wide as the Great Hall sprang onto his face. Turning to Remus, he pulled him upright to stop him from sinking down into his seat, causing his roommate to turn an even deeper shade of scarlet.

Dumbledore raised his arms again, and the room hushed as quickly as it had erupted. "To haste which ensured the safety of the school's students, I award Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew 50 points each."

Now everyone at the Gryffindor table jumped to their feet, and Peter almost fell over when his Housemates jerked him and Sirius to a standing position. Leaping up as well, James grabbed Sirius in a headlock, rubbing his shoulder-length hair out of place before he could wriggle away. From the High Table, Dumbledore waited for a state of relative quiet to return before continuing.

"However, in the process of last night's actions, several rules were broken. As stated at the beginning of the year, under no circumstances are students to enter the Forbidden Forest alone, and that command still stands. Therefore, Gryffindor will lose 100 points for rash decisions." There were a few cries of outrage from the Gryffindors, but Dumbledore quickly silenced them with a raised voice. "All rules are created for a reason, and I will not allow them to be broken without repercussions. On the other hand," he continued, a softer gleam appearing in his blue eyes, "thanks to certain precautions taken by the gentlemen of the hour, we also found out the exact scope of the events in the Forbidden Forest, something that would have taken extra time and frustration to figure out after the fact. Consequently, I will grant another 30 points to Gryffindor. Still, 50 more points should be taken, because I gave explicit orders to Mr. Black and Mr. Pettigrew to stay behind in the Forbidden Forest during the tussle, a command that they unwisely refused to heed."

Not sure of how to react, the entire room quieted as Dumbledore rubbed his bearded chin and stared up at the starry ceiling. "I suppose that 50 is a little harsh; after all, one deserves to be young once, and no harm came out of it. Perhaps I should go down to 45. No, not quite that either, but certainly not 40 . . ."

Clapping his hands, he looked up again with a smile. "Forty-two, then. As the new scores stand, Slytherin has 85 points, Ravenclaw 390, Gryffindor 463, and Hufflepuff 510. I believe that this means I can finally put up the decorations."

Raising his hand to the ceiling, Dumbledore magically conjured a dozen flags emblazoned with Hufflepuff's yellow and black crest. Stunned into silence with the rest of the Gryffindors, James watched as the painted badgers flapped and settled into place while the tables below suddenly filled with food for the end-of-year feast. As the Hufflepuffs began whooping and embracing each other, James slowly turned to face his roommates, who had all lapsed into silence.

Finally, Sirius raised his newly-conjured glass in a salute. "Well, you can't have everything," he said, and the others nodded before downing a long gulp from their matching goblets. From the corner of his eye, James spotted Dumbledore walk back towards the High Table, stopping to slap the open-mouthed Professor Slughorn on the shoulder before taking a seat.

After retiring to their dormitory for a restful night's sleep, James and his roommates threw their last few belongings into their suitcases for the journey home. Before they left the Hogwarts grounds, they waved one last goodbye to Fang when he limped out from behind Hagrid's hut with a slow wag of his tail, a little unsteady from his adventure in the Forbidden Forest but no worse for the wear. Once they had reached the scarlet Hogwarts Express in Hogsmeade Station, James climbed aboard and started searching for an empty compartment, passing several of his Housemates on the way. Nearly to his destination, he did not notice Lily and Alice until they had already passed him.

"Hey!" he called out on a whim, and the two girls turned around. Crossing his arms, James said, "I hope you aren't still friends with that greasy slime-ball, Evans. Have you asked him about the Forbidden Forest yet? He and his Death Eater chums are on pretty good terms."

Although Lily narrowed her eyes, James spotted a cloud pass over her eyes before she answered. "I think that I would trust his word over yours—don't think I didn't notice how your story changed every time you told it. And for your information, I didn't speak to him at all yesterday, and as far as I'm concerned, he'd better have a really good explanation before he tries to talk to me again."

Opening his mouth, James was about to say how he would like to see Snape come up with an explanation, but the very same boy suddenly ran up from behind Lily and slowed to a stop, panting. Straightening as the girls turned towards him, Snape shot a quick glance at James and his roommates, and the sight of them caused him to ball up his fists as he turned to face Lily.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said before throwing a passing glance at Alice. "In private."

"Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of Alice," Lily told him. When Snape withdrew, she crossed her arms while Alice turned her round face between the two of them. "You have a lot of explaining to do before I'm talking to you again," Lily declared. "Either start now or forget about it."

After pausing briefly as if expecting Snape to object, Lily turned and stalked off down the hallway with Alice following quickly in her wake, leaving the Slytherin standing by himself. Smirking, James watched Snape as he looked back at his spectators and glared.

"Looks like we're not the only ones who have you figured out," James told Snape, and the black-eyed student sneered.

"You'd better watch your back, Potter," he hissed. "Next time, Dumbledore might not be there to save you and your less fortunate friend."

Catching the jab, Remus looked down at the floor. Feeling the hair on the back of his neck shoot upwards, James clenched his fists and growled, "What do you mean by that?"

Smirking at James' reaction, Snape stuck his hooked nose into the air before continuing. "Come on now, everyone knows that Lupin can hardly afford the clothes on his back. Honestly, I'm surprised that he scrounged up enough money to attend Hogwarts at all. Has he ever told you what his parents do for a living? Do they even have jobs?"

In a flash, James' and Sirius' wands were both pointed at Snape, whose smile instantly fell. "Say that again," James snarled, "and I'll turn your tongue into a slug." Looking on, Peter and a few other passing students glanced between the three boys, waiting for a fight to break out. Remus' gaze had now risen from the floor to the nearby wall, which he studied with interest.

"You should be speaking for yourself, Snivellus," Sirius spat, glancing Snape up and down with distaste. "Are those your mum's old robes?"

Drawing back, Snape briefly clutched his collar while the other students laughed. He opened his mouth with a scowl, but James cut him off before he could speak. "Get out of here, Sniv, or I'll make you wish that you had."

Shutting his mouth, Snape glared at him before turning around and heading off down the hallway. As he stalked away amid the chuckles of the nearby students, James lowered his wand and jerked open the door to an empty compartment, ushering inside Sirius, Peter, and Remus, who had suddenly snapped to attention again.

When he closed the door, James watched as Sirius collapsed next to the window and pulled out a few Galleons from inside his robes. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving. When the Honeydukes Express gets here, treats are on me."

"Ace! Thanks, Sirius!" Peter said, sitting down across from him and swinging his legs.

"Here, I have my chess set from home," James announced, pulling out his board. "Want to join me, Remus?"

"All right," Remus agreed after a moment's pause, and the two prepared to spend the next few hours in avid meditation.

Although James won the first game rather quickly, Remus rapidly improved and captured James' king twice after that. When the Honeydukes Express passed by their compartment, James decided to cut his losses and put away the game while Sirius lived up to his promise and bought half of the trolley's merchandise, much to the delight of Peter. In no time at all, the four roommates had emptied the assorted wrappers and bags down to only chocolate stains, and James found a few sticky remains on his fingers as the Hogwarts Express began to lose speed later in the evening. Gathering their items, the boys headed out into the smoky interior of King's Cross Station as soon as the train had stopped.

"James!" two voices called out almost immediately, and James turned to spot his parents waving against the far wall of the platform.

"Come on!" James told his friends, dragging them towards his parents. When they reached them, James' mother enveloped her son in a quick hug before turning and doing the same to Sirius.

"I don't believe that we've had the pleasure of meeting you yet," James' father told Remus and Peter, offering his hand to both of them in turn.

"I'm Remus."

"And I'm Peter!"

"It feels like you're already a part of the family!" James' mother told them, smiling. "James has told us all about you!"

"He has?" Remus asked, glancing quickly at James.

"Don't worry!" James proclaimed, raising his hands. "I haven't told them everything; if I did, they wouldn't let me go back to Hogwarts." As the others laughed, James winked at Remus, who smiled gratefully.

"I hope that we'll be seeing more of you during the summer!" James' father said, now addressing Sirius as well. "You're always welcome at our house."

"Don't worry—I'll make sure that I can get away," Sirius answered.

"I'll come, too, James!" Peter piped up.

"There's no excuse this time," James announced, turning to Remus. "If you don't visit, I'm going to fly to your window and kidnap you, and I can't speak for how steadily my broom flies with two passengers."

"Noted," Remus answered, another smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm also expecting a lot more letters than I got last summer," James added. "I was beginning to think that you had all died."

"What?" Peter asked, tilting his head. "But I was writing to you every week!"

"Well, aside from you, Peter," James clarified.

"James is right, you know," James' mother said, patting Sirius on the shoulder. "I want a house full of boys by the summer's end!"

"You'll take that back when we get there," Sirius joked, and everyone laughed before Remus glanced away.

"I really should be finding my parents," he excused himself.

"Yeah, my Mum will have my hide if she thinks I got lost again," Peter agreed, and James' parents clasped hands with Sirius, Remus, and Peter one last time before turning.

"Come on, James!" his mother beckoned, leading him away by the shoulder.

"Wait one moment, will you?" James pleaded, and his parents allowed him to race away and drag his friends to the side, gathering them in a circle. After glancing over his shoulders to make sure that no one would overhear them, he looked pointedly at the others. "Before we leave, let's make a pact: by the end of the summer, we're going to find a way to make Remus' transformations bearable."

"I'll see if my parents have any books about werewolves," Sirius announced. "You never know what kind of ghastly things you'll find on our bookshelves."

"I'm sure that Hogwarts has loads on the subject," Peter guessed. "As soon as we get back, we can look through the library."

"At the very least, we'll come back to school with a plan," James declared.

"Blimey, we'll make a cure if we have to!" Sirius added with finality.

Glancing from one sincere face to the next, Remus eventually let a smile break across his face. "Thanks, mates," he told them as his eyes began to water.

Smiling, they all held onto each other for a few more moments before breaking apart. As Sirius, Remus, and Peter ran off in opposite directions, spinning briefly to wave back at him, James felt his heart swell in his chest. Walking back to his parents, he hoisted Hardwin's cage over his shoulder and led the way towards the metal wall separating Platform Nine and Three-Quarters from the rest of King's Cross Station, throwing one last glance over his shoulder at Sirius' bobbing head before it disappeared into the crowd. Whatever he and his roommates encountered in their next year at Hogwarts, James knew that they would be able to face it head-on as long as they stuck together.

* * *

 _ **This concludes James Potter and the Lost School! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The next excerpt in James' story is on the way, but I am taking a short hiatus during the summer due to travel plans and other commitments. However, just because I stay quiet for a couple of months doesn't mean that I'm not working my tail off behind the scenes! The third book is being edited while the fifth is only starting. (And yes: I said fifth.) Be forgiving with me, and stay tuned for James Potter and He Is Still Filthy Rich. :)**_


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